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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25493920">summer's on!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tusktooth/pseuds/tusktooth'>tusktooth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dimension 20 (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Demisexuality, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hotels, Implied/Referenced Emotional Abuse, M/M, Private Investigators, Roommates, Slow Burn, Workplace Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:34:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>71,372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25493920</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tusktooth/pseuds/tusktooth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tucked away in the woods near the southern end of Harroway Bay is the beautiful vacation town of Bayside, home of the world-famous Seacaster Resort. The resort is well-known for its gorgeous hiking trails, its illustrious spa, and beautiful beaches with some of the best surfing in the world. But for Riz? It's just a summer job.<br/>Here, in this seaside resort, he'll find friends, truth, unexpected romance, and clues. Lots of clues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aelwen Abernant/Sam Nightingale, Ayda Aguefort/Figueroth Faeth, Kristen Applebees/Tracker O'Shaughnessey, Ragh Barkrock/Gorgug Thistlespring, Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster, Zelda Donovan/Gorgug Thistlespring</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>171</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. pilot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>howdy as you can see from the anticipated amount of chapters and the current word count i'm in this for the long haul this is the most ambitious fic project I've ever really had, if I'm going to be honest. this fic is 100% based on stoked (2009) which is 6teen's underrated little brother BUT you don't have to have seen it to read this and i'm not following the plot, just stealing the premise of a bunch of teens work in a resort.<br/>a few notes on the relationship tags: this is primarily a fabriz fic and all of it will be from riz's perspective but other tagged relationships are planned to have at least one chapter focused almost entirely on them, so i thought them worth tagging. untagged background relationships include danielle/ostentatia and potentially antiope/katja (like that's happening but idk if it's going to actually come up!)<br/>because the chapters are like really long and i go back to school for training for my job in a week and a half, updates are just gonna be once a week (on Fridays!) and i'm gonna try to stay at least one chapter ahead at all times. at some point this is subject to change (as in i might update more frequently if i get done early but who knows) but I'll note it on Tumblr and/or in the previous author's note<br/><a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">you can find me on tumblr here!</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Down near the southern end of Harroway Bay, there was a beautiful sprawling seaside resort known to have some of the best waves in the country for surfing, great hunting trails, and a gorgeous luxury spa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>None of these things are what drew Riz to Seacaster Resort. In fact, he didn’t care much at all for athletics or nature or spending way too much money to be pampered. He was a private detective, focused only on solving his cases and getting through high school so that he could one day be an actual licensed private detective. That and being friends with Adaine, who was pretty much his only friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Really, this was all her fault. She had mentioned a few weeks prior that she and her sister were applying to work at the resort. Apparently, Aelwyn had briefly made out with the son of the resort’s owner a little over a year prior and he had told her to come back any time. Now that she and Adaine lived on their own, a summer job that also provided housing was kind of a jackpot because it meant that they could make money from work and from subletting their place, so she reached out to him and asked and the guy seemed pretty open to hiring them as a part of the staff. Riz, of course, had no interest in this because it in no way would benefit his private detective career but his mom had overheard and thought that it was an exciting opportunity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So now he was sitting on an overcrowded bus that smelled like sunscreen and sweat, squashed into the window seat with two elves on his left. This was literally the longest drive he had ever been on but figuratively it felt at least three times that long. He wasn’t even sitting on the side of the bus with a view of the water, instead watching farms and, now that they were getting closer to the resort, the woods pass by for hours on end, all while Aelwyn gossiped about some drama that had gone down at Hudol last year, a school which neither Riz nor Adaine attended or cared about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who is this guy anyway?” Riz asked once he was bored enough to warrant speaking to Aelwyn, who he still wasn’t quite fond of even if she had made up with Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What guy?” Aelwyn asked. “The creepy wizard from my school?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Seacaster guy,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We weren’t even talking about that,” she said, an eyebrow raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged. “I wasn’t paying attention. And I think Adaine is asleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” she said, looking down at her sister who currently had her face awkwardly smushed against her shoulder. “I hadn’t realized. So you’re wondering about our future boss?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess,” Riz said with a nod. “There isn’t much else to talk about.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t really know what to tell you. We made out once at a party,” she said with a shrug. “He was pretty attractive, probably, though you know he’s not exactly my type. Half-elven with dark skin and bright white hair. Certainly an athlete of some variety, probably surfing since he lives on the Bay but potentially something more. Very rich and obsessed with the reputation of his father. Like, he introduced himself as the son of Bill Seacaster who, if you didn’t know, was a former pirate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re working for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>pirate</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” he asked, eyebrows raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aelwyn shrugged. “Say what you will about pirates but this job pays far better than the cinema at the Elm Valley Mall and it offers housing on top of that, not to mention that you get more hours. Besides, he isn’t a pirate anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Somehow that doesn’t offer me a lot of comfort,” he muttered, turning back toward the window as a town unfolded next to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a beach town in every way. Smaller but crowded with people wearing swimsuits and floral shirts, stopping to take pictures with their dripping ice cream cones in the middle of the sidewalk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome to Bayside,” announced the bus driver. “I hope all of you enjoy your trips.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook Adaine awake. “We’re here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wh-” she replied, sputtering for a moment before the words his and she was sitting up straight. “Already?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long have you been asleep?” Aelwyn asked as she gathered her things and stood up. “Was I muttering to myself like a madwoman the entire trip?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Riz replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together, they made their way through the bus and started to walk through the town. There was a smaller bus that ran to and from the resort, but it only came by on the hour so they had another 20 minutes to explore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine immediately pulled them both into a small library, something that Aelwyn didn’t seem all that thrilled about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adaine, I don’t think you can use this library. We don’t actually live in Bayside,” she pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, we can,” she told her. “I checked ahead on the website and not only are visitors allowed to look at books as long as they remain inside the library, but employees of the resort can actually get library cards for the summer!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” Riz said. “Maybe I will be able to get some actual work done this summer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You two are the biggest nerds in all of Spyre,” Aelwyn said with a shake of her head. “We’re going to be working at a luxury resort in a beautiful part of the country that’s on the beach and all you’re concerned with is accessing the library.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They looked at one another and shrugged before approaching the desk, Aelwyn rolling her eyes as she followed behind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man that was behind the desk was an older man, with a long gray beard and a balding head, and he was fully asleep, head resting on a book. Riz would be afraid that he was dead if it weren’t for the fact that he was loudly snoring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Excuse me,” Adaine said politely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man didn’t stir.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz cleared his throat and spoke a little bit louder. “Sir?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, there was no sign of waking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My gods,” Aelwyn muttered, reaching between them to shove the man’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sputtered and fell out of his chair, groaning as he picked himself up the floor and sat down again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What can I do for you?” the man asked in a thick pirate drawl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re working at the resort this summer and we were wondering if we could get library cards,” Adaine explained. “I read online that it was something you offered.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Normally, I could get you all set up myself but the Mistress handles summer employee cards,” he told them. “Let me get her for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hopped off the chair and started to hobble across the library.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly, if you wanted a book it seems as if you could simply just take it,” Aelwyn said. “He clearly pays no attention and there he is, abandoning the desk with three strangers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I wanted to steal a book it wouldn’t matter if he was here or not. I could make it work,” he told her. “It’s more a matter of morals, which you clearly do not-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine whacked him on the arm and he shut up. Aelwyn seemed amused rather than offended.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A teenage girl with dark brown skin and bright red and yellow wings on her back, as well as short hair that seemed as if it were </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span> made out of flame, emerged from the back with a serious expression on her face. “You three are employees at the resort and wish to obtain library cards for the summer. Is this correct?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine nodded. “We’ve just arrived and want to be able to check out books so we can read and study in our spare time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz could practically hear Aelwyn rolling her eyes behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great. Fantastic,” the girl said. “Can I see your employee IDs?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we don’t have them yet,” he told her. “We only just got off the bus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see,” she said with a curt nod. “Return when you have them. I hope that you understand that I cannot give you library cards without them. You are free to peruse the collection as long as you don’t take anything out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We understand and thank you-” Adaine motioned toward her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do not understand,” the girl said. “Why are you waving your hands like this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was motioning to ask for your name,” Adaine explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would it not be more simple just to ask me my name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine smiled. “I think it would be actually. What is your name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name is Ayda Aguefort. What is-” she mimicked Adaine’s motions, “-your name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Adaine,” she told her before pointing to him. “This is my friend Riz and that’s my sister Aelwyn.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is very nice to meet you,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” she said with a nod. “Very nice to meet you all as well. It isn’t often that the people here take an interest in the library, especially people my age. It makes me happy to see that there are some people that appreciate this town for more than its beaches.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re happy?” Aelwyn asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do I not look it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I-” she replied. “Sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is quite alright,” she said. “If that is all you need I will return to my studies and Rawlins will continue to watch the front. It was nice to meet you Adaine, Aelwyn, and Riz. Welcome to Bayside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded once more and returned to the back as the older man took his seat behind the desk once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should we go?” Aelwyn asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have the time so I’d like to give the library a once-around,” Adaine told her. “See what I might be interested in checking out once we have our IDs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She disappeared into the shelves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aelwyn turned to Riz. “I’m going to walk around. You can join me or stay with Adaine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As much as he wanted to explore the town, he didn’t really want to go shopping with Aelwyn so he shook his head. “I’ll stay here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Suit yourself,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll meet you two at the bus stop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wandered around the library for a bit, noting a section dedicated entirely to local lore, which he hadn’t been aware was that significant, and then called it and pulled Adaine out of a book that she’d been invested in so that they could meet Aelwyn at the bus stop.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>When they got to the bus stop, Aelwyn hadn’t arrived yet but there were two other teenage girls waiting, duffel bags swung over their shoulders. He could tell from a glance that they were probably other members of the summer staff rather than staff because they didn’t look particularly rich.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One of them, a red-haired girl in a purple tie-dye shirt, turned around as they approached. “Hi! Are you two working at the resort too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other girl who had short brown hair and a shirt with the sleeves ripped off, turned around too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are,” Riz told her, reaching out a hand to shake hers. “I’m Riz and this is my friend, Adaine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Kristen and this is Tracker,” she told him as she shook. “She’s my girlfriend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you two know why it’s so empty?” Adaine asked, looking around. “I would think that there’d be more people headed to the resort.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, we’re between check-out and check-in and it’s still too early for people that went into town for the morning to be heading back,” Tracker told them. “And it’s still early in the season. Pretty much only staff uses it around this time of day when it’s still May.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you guys have worked here before,” Riz guessed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have,” Tracker replied. “Kristen is a new hire like you. We’re two of the wilderness guides for the summer so we do the like guided hikes and the classes for the kids. It’s a pretty fun job if you ask me. Where are you two assigned?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The restaurant,” Riz replied. “I’m guessing as a waiter, but it doesn’t really specify.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m in housekeeping,” Adaine said. “And my sister, wherever she’s gone off to, is up in the spa.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker let out a low whistle. “The restaurant and housekeeping both tip pretty well, but man can they be rough. I was in housekeeping for the first half of last summer before I got switched when the last senior wilderness guide quit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great,” Riz said with a sigh. “I didn’t want to come here in the first place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen whacked her lightly in the arm. “You’re gonna scare them away. They seem cool. We need them around!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s worth it,” Tracker assured them. “The resort is a really great place to work, if only for the community of people that work there. I bonded really well with last year’s staff and I know at least Ragh will be back this summer and probably some of the maidens, but I don’t know for sure. They’re a pretty cool group. You guys are going to love it here in Bayside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aelwyn came rushing up to meet them, shopping bag under her arm, as soon as the bus pulled up. Riz wasn’t even sure that he could call it a bus in good faith, as what it appeared to look like was fully a  pirate ship with wheels.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A door opened in the side of the ship revealing an old man with dark skin and a long white beard. “I see some of the summer staff has arrived!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker boarded first with a grin. “Good to see you, Aguefort.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aguefort?” Adaine asked as they boarded. “I think we met your granddaughter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Daughter, actually,” he corrected. “Understandable mistake. She’s had a few lives already. Ayda is great. I’m glad you got to meet her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is Arthur Aguefort,” Tracker told them. “He’s the hotel manager and he also drives the bus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I choose to do that,” he said from the front. “More interesting faces that way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He started up the bus and pulled off toward the hotel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait!” called a voice from outside and Riz turned to find a tall half-orc boy waving frantically as he chased the bus, actually keeping a decent pace with it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he wants to get on,” Kristen told Aguefort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then he should have arrived on-time,” Aelwyn said with a shrug. “The bus will be back in an hour.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s mean, Aelwyn,” Adaine said. “He’s only about a minute late. I don’t think it’s fair to make him wait another hour.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aguefort pulled over to the side of the road and the boy climbed onto the bus, breathing heavily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he panted before collapsing into one of the seats. “Van broke down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you need me to call someone for a tow?” Tracker asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “I called and got it towed to the repair shop in town but had to do the paperwork there. That’s why I nearly missed the bus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tough,” Riz said with a sympathetic nod. “Are you summer staff too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded. “I’m Gorgug. I’m gonna be at the front desk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not a bad place to be,” Tracker said. “When Goldenhoard isn’t hanging around, that is. He’s the assistant manager and he’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can confirm that he is, quite possibly, the worst,” Aguefort agreed from the front.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz settled into his head as the people around him continued their conversations. This was going to be an interesting summer, to say the least.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Seacaster Resort was a beautiful hotel with tall glass windows and an enormous stone fountain featuring a gorgeous sword-wielding elven woman in front of its entrance. On the other side of the road was an array of elegant villas for families wishing to have a more personal experience, at a higher price of course.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker led the group into the lobby, which was just as beautiful as the exterior of the hotel, what with its staircase that wound around a huge fish tank in its center and six elegant chandeliers that hung around it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a group of people milling about near the fish tank, teenagers that seemed to be guests rather than employees, who were talking loudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope the new summer staff isn’t as hopeless as they were last year,” commented the girl of the group, a brown-haired half-elf wearing big, circular red sunglasses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Forreal,” agreed one of the guys, a muscular blond-haired human that looked kind of dopey to Riz but probably would be considered attractive by the standards of most. “Like the only competent one was Ragh, somehow, and that werewolf girl. And both of them are well </span>
  <em>
    <span>you know</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The third member of the group, an attractive dark-skinned half-elf with stark white cropped atop his head in tight coils, laughed a little too loud. “Well, you know, can’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’d think they’d be a bit more subtle when they gossip about their staff,” Adaine said with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aelwyn shook her head. “I know their type. I was one of them once. They don’t care about anyone else so long as they can retain their status as better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The half-elven girl tipped her sunglasses down, revealing a pair of bright green eyes. “Aelwyn Abernant?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here we go,” she muttered under her breath before forcing a smile. “Penelope! How nice to see you! I trust you’re doing well?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m doing great!” she replied with a fierce smile. “Who are all these people? Are you- Aelwyn are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>working here</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz saw Aelwyn’s jaw twitch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am!” she told her. “My sister, Adaine, and her friend are going to be part of the summer staff as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! I didn’t realize-” she paused and then switched to a hushed tone, but didn’t actually speak any quieter. “You know, Aelwyn, if you need help, you could have just called me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s very sweet of you,” she said, smile widening. “I’m actually doing really well, though, even if I do have to work now. There’s something so freeing about not being entirely dependent on daddy’s money, but I guess you wouldn’t really understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Penelope’s jaw dropped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blond boy stepped in front of her. “You can’t talk to her like that!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned toward him. “Oh, Dayne. You don’t really have room to talk. Now, I’ve got to go get everything set up so I can move in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aelwyn nodded toward the other boy, who was just staring at her with wide eyes. “Lovely to see you again, Fabian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your sister is kind of badass,” he hissed to Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s always been like this,” Adaine replied. “She’s just finally using her powers for good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once they got to the desk, an exhausted-looking dragonborn man looked at them with mistrust. “You’re the rest of the new summer staff, I would suppose?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, sir,” Gorgug said with an extremely awkward polite nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if you could all line up and hand me your IDs, I should be able to start on the paperwork,” he told them. “And then I trust Miss O’Shaughnessey can show you to the staff house. You are free to room wherever there is a room available with the knowledge that people of different genders are not to be sharing rooms. Our non-local summer staff is more female-heavy this summer so please take that into consideration as you make your decisions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One by one, they handed him their IDs and helped him with other pertinent paperwork and then he sent them off to move in with instructions to be in the lobby at 7:30 the following morning so they could finalize things such as scheduling and direct deposit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker led them across the street toward the staff house. Past the villas, near the edge of the forest, was a fairly sizeable house that seemed to be a little less maintained than the guest spaces. There was an unlit fire pit near the front with a bunch of lawn chairs around it, a half-orc guy and a water genasi girl sitting in two of them. From the house came the loud sound of someone playing an instrument, probably the bass from how low it was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo, Tracker!” called the half-orc. “Welcome back to the party house.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked over to him with a grin and did some intricate handshake. “Good to see you again, Ragh. Place as shitty as last year?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bro, somehow it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl nodded in agreement. “The third-floor bathroom was at least 50% spider webs until I took a bottle of Clorox to the entire room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s rooming look like this year?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Danielle and Ostentatia rented an apartment in town this year and Zelda has family stuff this summer and isn’t working here so I’m rooming with Penny up on the second floor which will probably be the girl’s floor this year, I’m guessing,” she told her. “Antiope and Katja are out right now, Penny is with them actually because she has the grocery list on her phone, but they’re rooming next door. There’s the open two-bed next to that and then the big room down the hall. Fig, the girl who's rocking out in there right now, is over in the big room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m up on the third floor and there’s an open bed in my room,” Ragh added. “The room across the hall is empty.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Awesome,” Tracker replied, clapping her hands together before turning to the group. “Introductions soon but let’s get moved in first. Boys, go all the way up to the top floor. Girls, follow me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked into the house and they all followed. It wasn’t anything special inside either. There was a small kitchen and a living room with a gross-looking couch and a small boxy TV.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The stairs creaked as they ascended them and Riz noticed small cracks in the wall as he climbed. The top floor was smaller than the others, with a bedroom on each side and a bathroom in the middle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to room together?” he asked Gorgug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gorgug nodded. “Sounds good to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed open the door on the left, which was clearly already Ragh’s room, so he closed it again and went across the way. This room was smaller than the other one but still had two twin beds that looked stiff and uncomfortable. The ceiling on this side was slanted to match the curvature of the building’s weird roof.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think this is gonna work, Gorgug,” he told him. Riz was a goblin so he would have no problem walking around even at the places where the ceiling was the lowest but Gorgug would probably hit his head on the regular.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, my mom and dad are gnomes so this isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad,” he replied. “My room in the tree is way smaller than this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’d probably be more comfortable with Ragh, though,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably, yeah,” Gorgug admitted. “I don’t want to ditch you. Not when you just asked.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “It’s not a big deal. If you’ll be more comfortable across the way that’s fine by me. Besides, if we’re really all the staff, having a room to myself wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Cool,” he said with a nod. “I’m gonna go unpack across the way but I’ll meet you downstairs?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you,” he said with a smile. He liked Gorgug. He seemed nice enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Gorgug left, he got to work on unpacking, choosing the bunk on the left in case anyone else did show up. His dresser was kind of falling apart and was missing an entire drawer but he didn’t have a ton of clothes so he was able to manage. He stuck his case files and red string on top of the dresser for now. He was going to have to run into town to buy a corkboard to hang on the wall. At least private dwellings meant he wasn’t going to get any judgment for getting his work done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was in the midst of reordering his files when there was a knock at his door, most likely Adaine. “Come in,” he said, absentmindedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he saw who walked inside, he wasn’t sure that he believed it. Standing in the doorway was a cute halfling girl with a wide smile and a flower in her hair. It was his old babysitter, Penny, who had moved out of Elmville before his freshman year.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Penny?” He shot up off the bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I couldn’t believe it when we got home from the grocery store and your friend mentioned your name!” she said. “I mean, Riz isn’t exactly a popular name but what are the odds that you’re all the way out here in Bayside working at Seacaster Resort this summer?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe it,” he said with a shake of his head. “I didn’t have a crystal when you moved so I could never call you. Where do you live now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Birchburg,” she replied. “That’s where I met all the others, well the other maidens. We all scored this job together right after I moved and I’ve been coming back every summer since. Are you still in Elmville? Your friend had an accent but I didn’t want to assume anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am,” he told her with a nod. “Adaine and her sister Aelwyn are originally from Fallinel but they live in Elmville now. Aelwyn knows the boss’s son or something and he was able to hook us up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, regardless of how you got here, it’s really good to see you,” she said with a smile. “I’ve gotta go finish unpacking the groceries but I assume you’re gonna come sit around the bonfire with everyone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely,” he assured her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once she was gone he forced himself to put his case filed down and slip them into his drawer. If his mom were here, she would tell them that friends should come first, especially when he had only just arrived here in Bayside, and it was only a matter of time before Adaine came up to pull him downstairs anyway, now with a sneaky halfling on her side.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The bonfire was great, even if Riz wasn’t the most social of people. The summer staff was a fairly large group but he was happy to have a chance to get to know everyone. Besides the people that he’d met on his way in from town, the only other new staff member was Fig, who was going to be working in the restaurant with him. She was a punk rock tiefling girl who was passionate about her music and, while he couldn’t relate to either of those things, she seemed cool enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the staff were returners and, besides Tracker, it was just Ragh and then Penny and all her friends. Apparently, one of the girls in their group had worked here previously but couldn’t make it this summer and would probably visit at some point. The two girls that lived in an apartment in town also visited so that they could make their introductions. From the way they cuddled through most of the night, he figured they were probably a couple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At some point, drinks were passed around which shocked Riz because they were all underage on work premises with an early shift tomorrow but, from the way the senior staff were pretty carefree about it, he figured that it didn’t entirely matter. Still, he and Adaine both skipped that part of the bonfire, wanting to be fully prepared for their first day of work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The others didn’t seem to have the same worry and Kristen, in particular, got absolutely smashed, spending the entire night hanging onto Tracker as if she was going to run away and leave her to collapse on the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We won’t get in trouble for this if they catch us, will we?” he asked Penny, who was also abstaining from drinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Goldenhoard never leaves the hotel. Like it’s weird. I legitimately have never seen him on the other side of the doors. The owners and Aguefort don’t really care what we do. I’m only not drinking because I’m gonna drive Danielle and Ostentatia back to their apartment afterward.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like he’s bound to it?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Penny shrugged. “That’s the rumor. He doesn’t seem to enjoy working there but he hasn’t quit yet and the staff outside or at the villas can get away with a lot more shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He won’t notice that they’re hungover?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe he will but it’s not like he can prove it,” she told him. “Worst he can do is bring it to Aguefort or the owners and they don’t care. Fabian throws parties for his rich friends all the time in the penthouse and his parents have never done shit about it so I doubt they’d care if we had a couple of drinks around a bonfire.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what are the owners like?” he asked her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bill is legally no longer a pirate but still spends more time on the seas than here,” she told him. “He’s been known to fire people on a whim and threaten death but also randomly just give people money so it’s kind of hit or miss. He fired Danielle last year because she was too quiet and rehired her within the week so it’s all whatever. Hallariel pretty much lives at the spa and doesn’t really care what happens here. So, yeah, the real one you have to watch out for is Goldenhoard because he can be strict as shit and isn’t afraid to punish or fire people who step out of line.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about the son? Fabian?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She snorted. “Fabian is nice enough when his friends aren’t around. You don’t have to worry about him, though. His dad wants him to “prove himself as a man” or some shit before he has any real power around the resort so he can’t really do anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam, the water genasi from earlier, must have overheard and nodded in agreement. “Fabian’s not bad on his own. Penelope and Dayne are just terrible influences. Trust me, Penelope used to be my best friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly, just don’t pay any of them any attention,” Tracker advised. “Even when they are getting on your nerves.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Ragh agreed. “The people here, we have your back. Fuck everyone else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled, happy to have seemingly made so many sort-of-friends in a short period of time. “That’s good to know. Thank you.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Even without a hangover, Riz kind of felt like shit the next morning. They had gone to bed sort of late, which usually wouldn’t affect him because he rarely slept anyway, but he had spent the next few hours thumbing through his case files. None of his current cases were important, mostly cases revolving around potentially cheating partners that he probably couldn’t solve from Bayside, but they were worth a second glance nonetheless. He hadn’t collected payment on them knowing he’d be gone, but if he cracked them early enough he would still get a payout.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Overall, he was walking into the lobby having only gotten about two hours of sleep and having skipped breakfast which was probably ill-advised since he was going to be working at a restaurant all day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least he looked better than Kristen, who was still pretty much collapsed on Tracker for an entirely different reason this time. Even with her dark sunglasses, her deathly pale skin was enough evidence to point to her being extremely hungover.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a minute until 7:30 and Goldenhoard was pacing back and forth across the lobby, checking his watch in annoyance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just before the clock switched over, Fig skated in on a skateboard with her bass hanging off her back. “Don’t worry. I’m here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No skating in the lobby,” Goldenhoard snapped. “And you were almost late!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she replied. “Honestly, it’s a little inappropriate that you’re requesting to see me when I’m technically off shift. You’re my boss and a full adult, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not-” he said with wide eyes. “I wasn’t-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She waved him off. “Probably should just get to it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wh-” He stopped for a moment and adjusted his tie. “Yes. Let’s get started. Returning and new summer staff, I would like to formally welcome you all to Seacaster Resort. This is a luxury resort in a beautiful area. We have our famous white sand beaches and the best surfing in Solace. We have hiking trails that run through the forest to such places as Sunrise Peak and Bayside Falls. We’ve got a luxury spa, a 5-star restaurant, and one of the largest swimming pools in all of Spyre.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gorgug, Fig, and Kristen shared excited looks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All of these things are available to you in your spare time if you have the spending money,” he told them. “But when you’re on the clock you will be focused on nothing but your jobs. As Assistant Manager, I have implemented a three-strike system for summer staff, which has never served me wrong. If I catch you breaking any aspect of the policies specified in the employee handbook, which was sent to all of you before your arrival, you will receive a strike. Obviously, the more significant breaking of rules can result in instant firing.” He turned to Kristen. “Miss Applebees, I have half-a-mind to give you a strike for showing up hungover to a shift when you are, in fact, underage. Unfortunately, this is not something that I myself can prove so let’s call this a warning, which is something that I won’t typically be giving out during your time here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz’s eyes widened. This guy really was a hardass. Sure, Riz wasn’t typically much of a rule-breaker, but sometimes he did what he had to do for his primary job. If he did pick up a case here, he was going to have to watch out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You all have your assignments and should get to them,” he told them. “I just wanted to make my position on potential mischief absolutely clear.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all turned to go their separate directions. Walking with Riz toward the restaurant were Penny, Fig, and Antiope.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry. We’ll get away with any mischief we please,” Fig said with her head held high. “In fact, let’s do some excess mischief just to grind his gears.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t try it,” Antiope said with a shake of her head. “He’s our </span>
  <em>
    <span>boss</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And he isn’t the type of boss that lets you get away with anything. Trust me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So?” Fig asked. “If we bent over for everyone with a grain of authority the world would never evolve.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For some reason, I don’t think that logic is really applicable to this situation,” he told her. “Also, why did you bring your bass?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She flipped it around so it was on her front and strummed a quick chord, which rang out as if it was plugged into an amp. An enchanted bass, he guessed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m gonna offer to do some entertainment,” she explained. “It’s my main goal in life to start a bass-driven band and where better to start than a restaurant filled with wealthy potential investors?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“An actual venue?” Antiope suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m not sure that Goldenhoard is gonna let that fly,” Penny told her. “Sometimes we have quartets in on weekend nights but never anything modern.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They walked into The Harpy, an extravagant pirate-themed restaurant on the second floor. It had already opened for the morning and was being staffed by some of the year-round employees. Penny and Antiope led them to an office in the back where there was a bony woman thumbing through some paperwork and smoking a cigarette.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Doreen,” Penny greeted cheerfully. “I’m here with the rest of the summer staff that’s gonna be working in The Harpy this summer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked over them, seemingly unimpressed. “You kids ready to get to work?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen pointed to Penny. “Hostess.” Then to Riz. “Waiter.” Next to Antiope, where she paused for a moment. “You wanna be a waitress or you wanna cook?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m allowed to cook?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?” she asked. “You’ll be in the kitchen then. Obviously, you won’t be head chef, but you have two hands and can chop vegetables. Besides, I seem to remember you being a good cook in a pinch last year.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Antiope bowed her head. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know I won’t, hon.” Finally, she pointed to Fig. “Waitress.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually,” she said, flipping her bass back around to the front, “I was thinking that I could supply some musical entertainment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hummed. “Show me what you got.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig strummed out a quick tune that Riz didn’t recognize but actually kind of enjoyed, even if it wasn’t his usual genre.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen smiled. “You got talent, kid. I’ll tell you what. Your first job is waitress because we need you there but when things aren’t busy, feel free to jam.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hell yeah!” Fig shouted, giving a Doreen a high five. “We’re gonna rock this joint!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now get out of here,” she told them waving them off. “We got customers. The other staff will help you get trained.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz walked out of her office with his head held high. His first day at work couldn’t be so bad, could it? And, as a waiter, at least the tips would be nice.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It was insane. With minimal training, Riz was thrust straight into the breakfast rush which was, pretty much without any break, replaced by the lunch rush. People were extremely rude and they barely tipped and he got clam chowder spilled on him on three separate occasions, only two of which seemed to be accidental.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time the lunch rush started to slow down, Riz decided that he was done tolerating so much shit. It was better now, though, with Fig jamming on her bass on the small stage as a small crowd of younger patrons watched and ate food off of the appetizer menu.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Riz went to take the order at a table that was technically in Fig’s section, featuring the three teenagers that had been in the lobby the day before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He places a cup of water in front of each of them. “Hello. Welcome to The Harpy. My name is Riz and I’ll be serving you today. Can I start you off with something to drink?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, you’re Aelwyn’s tiny friend,” said Dayne.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glared at him. “I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>goblin</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Even then you’re quite small,” Fabian said. “You’re like… a ball! The Ball!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dayne and Penelope laughed and Fabian smiled at their praise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, do you want drinks or not?” he asked. “Because I do have other tables that I need to serve as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that any way to speak to your customers?” Penelope asked. “That’s like super rude, actually.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He just stood there and tapped his food, jaw tightening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Fabian said. “I’ll have the seafarer’s eggs benedict with a side of hashbrowns and a large orange juice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We stop serving breakfast at 11,” he told him, even though it’s something that he should know as someone that </span>
  <em>
    <span>lives in the hotel</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “It’s after 1.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My parents pay your salary,” he reminded him. “You will serve me whatever I please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I will, will I? Because word on the street is that you don’t have shit in terms of power here, even if you do act like a spoiled piece of-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz stopped as Goldenhoard barrelled into the restaurant, steam flying out of his nose. Did Fabian have some sort of psychic snitch powers?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think that he has the ability to fire you though,” Penelope said with a blatantly fake smile. “Dayne and I will share an order of apple pancakes with a side of eggs, over medium.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He balled up his fist so tightly that he thought his pen was going to snap in his hand but forced a smile anyway as he took down their order.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Certainly,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’ll get that right in for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Walking across the room, Riz slammed the order down on the window to the kitchen in front of Antiope.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Props to you for trying,” she said with a sigh. “It would be wonderful to see them not get what they want for once.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He returned to the floor, only to find Goldenhoard standing in front of the stage with his arms crossed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>strike</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Figueroth Fath,” he snapped. “What gives you the right to shirk your duties as a waitress in favor of playing music that is wildly inappropriate for this kind of establishment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s slow and I’m bringing energy to the place,” she said with a shrug. “You can’t give me a strike for drawing in a crowd.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seven people sharing a plate of nachos isn’t a profitable crowd!” he shouted. “And I can certainly give you a strike. Your job is to wait tables. You can play this noise in your free time back at the staff house but I will not tolerate it here in my hotel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’m allowed to do this. I already got permission.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“From who?!” he asked. “From Doreen? Because I am her superior as the assistant manager of this hotel and I have more of a say on what goes on here, even if she does manage the restaurant!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, from Doreen,” she said with a nod, strumming out another soft chord, presumably just to rile him up. “And also from your boss.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“From </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> boss?” he asked. “Bill Seacaster, the owner of this hotel who is away on business? His wife up at the spa?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Arthur Aguefort.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Arth-” he started. “He’s not even around! He mostly just runs the buses back and forth all day! I seriously doubt that he gave you permission to take time during your shift to play in the restaurant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah?” she challenged. “Call him, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve already called your bluff!” he exclaimed. “There is absolutely no point in continuing this nonsense. Accept your strike and get back to work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig nodded. “I get it. You’re scared that a teenage girl is going to be right about something that you wish you had control over. A lot of men fear powerful women. It’s not really acceptable, especially for someone in your station, but-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>fear powerful women!” he shouted, pulling out his crystal and dialing a number. “I’ll even put him on speaker so all of you can hear that I cannot be fooled by your tricks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not seeing anyone in need of him, Riz walked a bit closer so that he could better hear. Chances were, Fig was screwed. She might even get a second strike for lying to Goldenhoard, all on the first day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello,” answered Aguefort’s voice on the other side. “I’m driving the bus so you’re on speaker.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Arthur it’s Goldenhoard,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aguefort audibly groaned on the other end of the line which made Goldenhoard wince. “What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here with one of the new employees, Figueroth Faeth,” he told him. “She’s spent her shift-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only since it’s slowed down!” she butted in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, the slower parts of her shift playing her bass guitar on the stage in The Harpy,” he told him. “I have given her a strike for this behavior and barred her from doing it again but she claims that she obtained permission from you which seems unreasonable since you haven’t really been around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course she got permission from me,” Aguefort told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz’s eyes widened in surprise and, from Goldenhoard’s expression, he hadn’t expected to get that answer either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you certain, sir?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Am I certain?” he asked. “Did 225 people, regardless of their biological sex, get pregnant at a rock concert due to the invention of the electric lute?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes?” he guessed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely,” Aguefort replied. “It would do you well to take that strike off of Miss Faeth’s record. She is going to be a fantastic bard someday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then the line clicked dead with Goldenhoard staring at his crystal, aghast. “Well, I suppose I owe you an apology.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do,” Fig agreed. “And I would love to hear it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pinched his nose and let out a deep sigh. “I apologize, Miss Faeth, for doubting that you were telling the truth about obtaining permission to play in the restaurant. However, I would much prefer it if you attended to your duties as a waitress while on the clock.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I can still play at the restaurant when I’m off?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reluctantly, Goldenhoard nodded. “So long as nobody else is utilizing the stage and we don’t have important guests, you will be allowed to provide musical entertainment when you’re not otherwise working.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She saluted to him. “Sounds good to me, sir.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” he said with another hearty sigh. “I’m off to my office to do some, uh, paperwork.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Goldenhoard walked out of The Harpy looking defeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did Aguefort actually give you permission to play here?” Riz asked her once he was out of earshot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope,” Fig said. “But I had a feeling that he would cover for me. The guy is a wild card but, if there’s anything that he seems to enjoy, it’s fucking with Goldenhoard.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” Riz replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig winked at him. “Like I said. We’re going to get away with some real trouble this summer.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Riz managed, by some miracle, to survive his first shift and subsequently immediately collapsed onto his bed, rejecting an offer to go to the beach on his way up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at his case files for a few minutes, moving the pictures around as if it would give him any clarity in his exhausted state, and then tossed him back into his drawer with a heavy sigh before laying back down in an attempt to actually get some sleep for once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hadn’t been five minutes before there was a knock on his door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s me,” Adaine replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed and sat back up. “Come in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked into the room and closed the door behind her before sitting next to him on the bed, looking just as exhausted as he did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How was your first day?” she asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A lot,” he replied. “You?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She laughed. “Also a lot. Ostentatia and I were assigned to clean the villas which, while it was nice not to have Goldenhoard bearing down on us, meant a lot of walking back and forth with towels and garbage and such. My feet are killing me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fig totally stuck it to Goldenhoard today. It was quite impressive,” he told her. “But the customers are rude and don’t tip for shit. Notably, the owner’s son and his friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Aelwyn didn’t have a lot of favorable things to say about Penelope and Dayne when I asked her last night,” she said. “It doesn’t seem that the others do either. They mentioned Fabian isn’t so bad when they aren’t around but I think the fact he chooses to hang out with them and stoop to their level is a bit telling.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Agreed. Is Aelwyn back yet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine nodded. “Yes, but you don’t want to hear from her. Apparently, she’s supposed to be at the desk in the spa but they needed someone to step in and assist with pedicures. Her stories are graphic and disgusting and it’s only the first day of work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shuddered. “Yeah. I’ll pass on that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, are you coming to the party?” she asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow. “I know it’s the first day of work but we’re throwing a party after all this? We still have to be back tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not throwing the party. Fabian is,” she corrected, which didn’t exactly make Riz want to go anymore. “He throws a big party at the beginning of every summer for his rich friends and then invites the summer staff and the locals. Usually, there’s fancy food and expensive alcohol. And it’ll be so crowded that we don’t have to interact with him and his friends at all!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem suspiciously gung-ho about this party,” he said, squinting suspiciously at her. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed. “Aelwyn is going to force me to go anyway. It’ll be easier for me if you come along.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, if you would have just said that, it would have been an immediate yes,” he told her. “You wouldn’t abandon me in a time of need so I’m not about to leave you at a wild party alone with your sister, who still hasn’t entirely earned my trust.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine smiled softly. “Thank you, Riz. It really means a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. You’re my best friend,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He thought of what his mom would say about this, about making friends at his new job, and forced himself to think positively. This could be a good chance to bond with the other staff and, at the very least, he would be able to hang out with Adaine. It was going to be fun.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>When they arrived at the main beach, the party was already in full swing. Teenagers were all over the beach, drinking out in the open because rich kids like Fabian never faced repercussions and thus underage drinking wasn’t really a concern. There were tables full of food from chips and salsa to caviar to homemade brownies with a huge pig roasting next to it. He probably would have seen it earlier had he gone to the beach after his shift. There was a parade of coolers next to that, filled with all manners of alcohol and, hopefully, some other beverages.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is insane,” Gorgug said with a shake of his head. “I haven’t been to a party like this </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Sam asked. “He throws this thing every year. If anything, this is toned down from last year.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Two years ago he got a bounce house,” Ragh added. “It got popped within like the first hour, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Enjoy yourselves now,” Tracker told them. “Chances are, we’ll be the ones stuck cleaning all of this up tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“By that logic, wouldn’t it be more reasonable for us to play damage control?” he pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh slapped him on the back. “No point, dude. This party is going to be crazy with or without us here. It’s better to have a good time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is my moment,” Fig said with a wicked grin. “Time to get Fig and the Cig Figs off the ground.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s just you,” Adaine said with a raised eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled a pair of drumsticks out of her back pocket and tossed them to Gorgug. “Not anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I don’t have drums?” he replied, gaze transfixed on the drumsticks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on,” Fig said, pulling him by the arm. “Let’s go do some networking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know it seems like a lot but the parties here are really fun,” Penny told Riz quietly. “Just try your best to have fun, alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She patted his back lightly and then took off after her friends. Riz looked around and saw that Ragh and Aelwyn had both also taken off, leaving him alone with Adaine, Kristen, and Tracker.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m gonna get </span>
  <em>
    <span>smashed</span>
  </em>
  <span> tonight,” Kristen announced.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker snorted. “Are you sure that’s the best idea, babe?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She furrowed her eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t it be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you’re still hungover from last night,” Riz observed. “I think you’ll seriously regret it if you worsen that now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Goldenhoard already gave you a warning,” Adaine reminded her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen waved that off. “We don’t have to report inside unless it rains and the weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow. Besides, Danielle is taking the early class.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’re free to make your own choices,” Tracker said with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Awesome,” she replied before pressing a quick kiss to Tracker’s lips. “Let’s go ham on this buffet, babe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker rolled her eyes with a smile and followed her girlfriend to the buffet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wanna do some rounds?” Riz asked Adaine. “See what this party is all about.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded and they started walking around the perimeter. In terms of entertainment, there was a small stage set up with a live band, Fig chatting with someone near it, a bunch of yard games and then, of course, people swimming in the water. The middle was a mess of people dancing and chatting and eating in a way that would surely result in a lot of accidental spillage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian himself stood with Dayne and Penelope, who were talking with a few of the other wealthier-looking partygoers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ended up getting plates of food and drinks: water for Riz, though Adaine had a wine cooler this time. And sat out near the water.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is going to be an interesting summer,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. “I think it will be good, though. In Elmville, it’s always been just us and Aelwyn now, I guess. Maybe we need a few more people in our circle.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he agreed. “Working with Fig was pretty cool today and the others seem pretty cool too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I went to the beach earlier with the others and me and Kristen really hit it off,” Adaine told him. “I think that I might even want to take one of her classes and you know that I’m not much of a camper.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does it say anything that we’re each other’s only friends?” he asked her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine shook her head. “I think it just means that we haven’t found our people yet. Maybe this is the place where we finally do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cheers to that,” he said, lifting up his water bottle and knocking it against the bottle in her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowned. “I’m empty. How much would I have to pay you to get me a bottle of water?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He snorted. “No charge at all. Be right back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he approached the coolers, he noticed that Penelope and Dayne were standing there and chatting. After serving them earlier that day, he didn’t exactly want to talk to them so he decided to move slowly and stealthy as he got a water for Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think Fabian still has feelings for Aelwyn,” Penelope said with a roll of her eyes. “Doesn’t he know she’s like </span>
  <em>
    <span>poor</span>
  </em>
  <span> now? And she’s not even into him. That much is clear from a simple glance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They made out at a party once,” Dayne replied. “Like I don’t get why the dude is so obsessed. He was over the moon when she texted. It was like lowkey pathetic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, if I’m gonna be honest, Fabian has always been sort of weird,” she said with a shrug. “If it weren’t for the resort freebies…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’d never hang out with the dude,” he agreed. “He’s annoying, always bringing up his dad as if the dude isn’t an evil pirate or whatever. Guy’s self-centered as hell. People like him are why Helio needs to end it all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Right</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she replied. “Honestly, I don’t care where his dad makes his money, as long as I benefit. I mean, summers here are amazing and we get whatever we want at an extreme discount. It’s great.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Having heard enough, Riz grabbed the water bottle and scurried back toward Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be right back,” he told her, tossing her the bottle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed. “I have to tell an asshole that his friends are even worse assholes.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Among the crowd of people, it was still pretty easy to find Fabian. He was standing where he had been at the beginning of the party, completely alone, and checking his crystal every couple of seconds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi,” he said with a nod as he approached.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian made a face. “Did you need something, The Ball? I don’t remember inviting you to this party.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t come here to be harassed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you flirting then?” he asked. “You’re not exactly my type.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not flirting,” he replied. “I just overheard-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>spying</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my </span>
  <em>
    <span>gods</span>
  </em>
  <span>, can you let me talk for one minute?” he groaned. “I was grabbing a bottle of water and I overheard Penelope and Dayne saying all kinds of shit about you. They said that the only reason they hang out with you is so they can stay at the hotel for a discount and take advantage of you getting whatever you want here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m supposed to believe </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Fabian asked. “The Ball, all I know about you is that you were rude to me at the restaurant this morning. I’ve known Penelope and Dayne for years.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” he said with a nod. “Don’t believe me. I told you this because it was the right thing to do. What you do with the information isn’t my concern. But, at the same time, don’t try to tell me that you don’t think Penelope and Dayne would shit on you as soon as your back was turned. You know that they turned on Aelwyn the second that she lost her money. Seems that they turned on Ragh and Sam too. Do you honestly think that their loyalty to you is unwavering? Are you really that deluded?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he started, but stopped and puffed his chest up confidently. “I’m Fabian Aramais Seacaster, son of Bill Seacaster. Only a fool would tarnish my name and I believe that I know my two best friends well enough to say that they aren’t such fools.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If that’s what you believe, I can’t really change your mind,” Riz replied with a sigh. “You know what, Fabian, the returners said that you’re nice when Penelope and Dayne aren’t around. I don’t know if I believe them because you’ve been nothing but shitty to me today but, on the off-chance they are right, then you’re only hurting yourself by spending time with these people that don’t even like you. If your name can’t stand on its own, if you have to state your dad’s name just to get people to pay attention, then there’s something you aren’t doing right and you’re never going to make any friends that actually like you for you. I’m nobody but a fucking ball and at least I still have at least one genuine friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He started back toward Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait!” Fabian called out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned with an eyebrow raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he told him with a nod. “I’ll take your words into consideration.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz forced a smile. “Enjoy your party, Fabian”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then he made his way through the crowd to get back to his best friend.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. moving in</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>finally getting into it a bit! this was the chapter when i actually started rolling for minor things here and there lol honestly it's pretty fun to write that way.<br/>moving back to school this weekend which like major doh but i should be able to keep up the face w a chapter per week because the next chapter and a half are already written! updates might be later in the day in the coming weeks bc i have training for work and i move time zones but that's whatever<br/><a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">you can find me on tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The rest of the week didn’t go all too poorly. Riz regularly worked the morning shift which honestly served him pretty well. He wasn’t exactly a morning person, but he could still function pretty well in the mornings, which meant he had no problem handling it. It did mean that he didn’t typically see Fig until the lunch rush when she started her shift, but that was alright because there wasn’t a ton of time to socialize on shift anyway and it meant that she sometimes came in before her shift began to play music.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It did mean that he had his afternoons free to work on his cases which was nice. He had gone into town and purchased a corkboard to give his cases the proper care that they deserved. It had paid off too! His expert detective skills had led him to conclude that one of his clients was not, in fact, being cheated on, but her boyfriend was planning a surprise birthday party for her. He relayed this information to her over the phone and the tiny payout from her was honestly more rewarding than the knowledge that he was getting a much larger weekly check from the resort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, he worked away at both jobs and, while doing so, grew closer to the people that he was living with. He wasn’t really one for the beach or surfing, so most of his time was spent with Kristen, Gorgug, Fig, and Adaine, who tended to hang more around the house, though a few of them did still go on evening trips to the beach. But he’d also gotten to know Ragh and Tracker and the other returners while he’d been there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunday morning was his first day off and he had vowed, with a lot of encouragement from Adaine, to take it off from his investigations too. His plans included sleeping in late, meeting the wilderness guides for lunch during their break, and going into town in the afternoon to walk around and maybe pay the library another visit, partially because Adaine had been going there after work almost every day and she insisted that Ayda was the best librarian and wizard she had met in her life and would be able to help Riz find books on anything he was interested in. It was kind of exciting, actually, to have this day entirely to himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All of his excitement was squandered when he woke up at 8 to someone slamming the door of his room open.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wh-” he said, blearily rubbing his eyes open to see Fabian walking into the room with about seven suitcases on a luggage cart that be must have hauled over all the way from the hotel. “What the hell?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian looked down with raised eyebrows. “The Ball? Shouldn’t you be at work right now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “I’m off today. Why the fuck are you in my room?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it not obvious?” he asked, gesturing from the suitcases to the bed. “I’m moving in! Lucky you, honestly. It must have been so lonely up here all a- Why do you have stalker pictures of people on your board?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m a private investigator,” he replied. “Working on a case. Why, again, are you moving in?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My papa thinks it’s best that I mingle with the common folk,” he told him. “Live in this horribly messy house, sleep on that bed that looks like a rock, and work here at the hotel. He said something about working hard among the common folk building character and making me the man I need to be to run this hotel one day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz squinted suspiciously at him for a moment. This all seemed a little bit far fetched based on pretty much everything that he had heard about Bill Seacaster but, in the end, he couldn’t really see a reason for Fabian to lie about this. Living in the staff house and working was undeniably worse than living in the penthouse and doing whatever you wanted constantly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you working?” he asked him as he stretched out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The restaurant with you,” he replied immediately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” he said. “I thought we had a full staff at The Harpy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged. “I suppose that they’ve found room for one more. Doreen certainly isn’t complaining about having another set of hands.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” he said with a nod, hopping out of the bed and walking over to his drawer to pull out a fresh set of clothes. “I’m gonna go shower and eat and stuff so feel free to unpack and do whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He yawned as he made his way to the bathroom to shower. So much for sleeping in. Or a day off in general. Fabian was probably going to force him to help him unpack once he was done. Once the boss’s insufferable son, always the boss’s insufferable son.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>After his shower, he made his way down to the kitchen, where both Ragh and Sam were seated, eating breakfast. There were no surf lessons and equipment rentals were limited to the afternoons on Sundays, so one of them would have to clock in around noon, but for now, they both had the morning off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hear you got a roommate,” Sam said, nodding toward the stairway. “He woke me up on his way upstairs. I think he dropped those bags about three times while he tried to maneuver that cart up the stairs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz sighed. “I’m a decent person, aren’t I? Why do these things happen to me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bro, that’s totally a Kristen question,” Ragh told him. “You’ll be fine, man. Dayne and Penelope checked out yesterday so he’ll probably mellow out a bit. Though, that still doesn’t explain what he’s doing in the house.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently, his dad said something about him working here this summer to prove he’s worthy of having a say around the resort,” he explained. “I didn’t even know he was around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not,” Sam said, looking toward the stairs thoughtfully. “Interesting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Ragh asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“His dad must have heard about the party and this is his punishment,” Riz concluded. It was the only logical reasoning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Usually he’s pretty chill about that stuff,” Ragh replied. “Though he’s a fucking wildcard so who knows.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe it’ll do him some good,” Sam said. “He needs better friends and where better to find them then the staff house, full of people his age that are more reasonable in every way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He crossed his arms over his chest. “No fucking thanks. It’s not my job to fix him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not,” she agreed. “But I think we should at least give the guy a chance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He can go surfing with us tonight!” Ragh exclaimed. “You should come too, Riz. I don’t think I’ve seen you at the beach once.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The party.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t seen you there twice then,” he corrected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz shrugged. “It’s not really my thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll get you over there yet,” Sam promised. “Maybe not today, but it’s going to happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you say,” he said. “Now I have to figure out what in the nine hells I’m going to do with my morning. The original plan was to sleep in and then grab lunch with people.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going climbing out by the cliffs if you want to come along,” Ragh offered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked down at his own scrawny body and thought of the last time he had to do the push-up test for gym class. “I think that I’d drag you guys down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, dude, we don’t care if we have to wait up,” he assured him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But if you don’t want to come then Fabian might need some help unpacking,” Sam told him. “And he could probably use someone to tell him about the cooking and chore rotations.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Speaking of, I’m going into town today if we need any groceries,” he told them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam grabbed a list off the fridge and handed it to him. “It’s a lot to carry but I have a feeling that you can get an extra hand this afternoon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys are really going to leave me with him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. “You’ll survive, dude.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>After eating breakfast he did help Fabian unpack and gave him the rundown of how things worked around the house. Predictably, he was a little pretentious about it and Riz probably did more of the unpacking than he did before having to practically beg him to put himself on the chores list because nobody, not even Fabian Aramais Seacaster, is beyond taking out the fucking trash when it’s full.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they were done, Riz got to work on making lunch for himself and the wilderness guides as promised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a lot of food for one particularly small person,” Fabian told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m meeting with some friends during their lunch break,” he explained. “It’s my first day off and I thought I’d do something special.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” he said with a nod. “Can I come?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you-” he repeated. “You want to come eat sandwiches in the woods? Doesn’t seem like your thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not,” he snapped. “But neither is living in this house or working at the hotel. If I’m going to fit in, I need to stoop myself to your level of living.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” he said with a nod. “Well, you can make your own sandwich while I pack the cooler.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian opened his mouth as if he were going to say something snippy but closed it and nodded and, few minutes later, they were both walking over to the clearing where the wilderness guides gave classes and started their guided hikes. Admittedly, it was nice to have someone else to carry the cooler.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a sweltering hot day, the sun beating heavily onto their shoulders and, when they finally reached the clearing, the three girls were laying in the grass and passing a big canteen back and forth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you three </span>
  <em>
    <span>sharing </span>
  </em>
  <span>a canteen?” Fabian asked. “Can you not afford to buy your own? Surely, my father pays you enough so that you can each buy a separate vessel for water.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They sat up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you bring him here for a reason?” Kristen asked Riz. “No offense.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian narrowed his eyes. “Offense is most certainly taken!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian here has been thrown out of the penthouse so that he can work with us and prove his worth as a potential future-resort owner,” he explained. “His first day is tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker nodded and beckoned them over. “Well, we’re hungry so we’re happy for any company as long as it meant that we get some lunch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you for bringing it, Riz and Fabian,” Danielle said with a smile. “It’s been a long morning. There’s a family reunion here this week and they sent about twenty kids our way with absolutely no parental supervision.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you ever tried to lead a group of twenty kids across a variety of ages on a hike without losing any of them?” Tracker asked. “Literally all of my nightmares in one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One kid ate </span>
  <em>
    <span>three </span>
  </em>
  <span>caterpillars,” Kristen said with a shake of her head. “I don’t even know how he found so many while we were on the move.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know absolutely nothing about children but I truly feel bad for you,” he told them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have three younger brothers and I wasn’t prepared for this,” Kristen said, flopping back on the grass. “Please, cast sandwich in my hand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not really much of a spellcaster,” he said with a roll of his eyes as he handed everyone their food.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Fabian,” Tracker said. “Is your dad in town?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “We merely had a conversation on our crystals and he suggested that I do this work thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was it because of the party?” Danielle asked. “Usually he’s pretty cool about that, I thought? He was literally there last year, doing keg stands with Ragh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Who knows with my father. I know better than to question his judgment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’re staying in the house?” Kristen asked. “What room?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz smiled tightly and she nodded in understanding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, stop acting like I’m some </span>
  <em>
    <span>burden</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he told them. “Honestly, The Ball, you could use someone to make you stop being so uptight all the time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Riz</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he corrected. “And I’m not uptight all the time! If anything you’re the uptight one!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of uptight, Riz,” Kristen piped in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am not!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So if we call Adaine right now and ask her if you’re uptight, she’s going to say no?” Tracker asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He crossed his arms and scowled. “Stop ganging up on me. Am I really the one you don’t like here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would you think that we don’t like Fabian?” Danielle asked. “Tracker and I have worked here before. We know him better than we know you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And he did throw that sick party the other day,” Kristen pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See,” Fabian said, gesturing toward them. “People love me! You’re the one that’s uptight, The Ball.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I made you three lunch!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I carried it over here through the sweltering heat,” Fabian added. “Don’t take all of the credit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Tracker emphasized. “It’s nice that we’ve got some cool new staff this summer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pressed a kiss to a blushing Kristen’s cheek.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what do you two have planned for the rest of the day?” Danielle asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going into town,” he told them. “We have to pick up groceries for next week so if there’s anything that you guys need that wasn’t put on the list, let me know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” Kristen exclaimed. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to find these, and if not it’s totally okay, but there’s this candy from my childhood-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker facepalmed. “Babe, no.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-and I don’t know if you’ve ever seen them before, to be honest, it could be a regional thing and it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>a religious thing. Not that I’m like </span>
  <em>
    <span>beholden</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Helio anymore. I’m a cleric on my own terms, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” he said with a shake of his head. “What, again, do you want me to look for at the store?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, yeah,” Kristen took a deep breath. “They’re called Corn Cuties. It’s this gummy candy that’s shaped like corn. It also tastes like corn. They’re really good, guys,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian wrinkled his nose. “I’ll take your word for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You won’t find it,” Tracker warned. “She’s been searching for it ever since we moved to Bastion City with my uncle and we haven’t once found it. If we couldn’t find it there, there’s no way they have it in a small town on the opposite side of Harroway Bay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s worth a try!” she exclaimed. “Maybe there’s like a branch of Helioic followers here that are really into corn-flavored gummies!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s not,” Fabian replied. “The only person I know that worships Helio is Dayne. And Penelope pretends to so that he’ll date her. Neither of them are locals.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not really a religious town in general,” Danielle added. “Our first summer here, Ostentatia went looking for a temple to her god and she actually couldn’t find any temples at all. It was kind of weird but I guess this town probably just isn’t that big if you take away the summer rush.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll look,” he promised Kristen. “Don’t get your hopes up, but I’ll at least walk down the candy aisle. I need to get chocolate for s’mores anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, Riz I could kiss you,” she replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t,” all four of them said at the same time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen wrinkled her nose. “I wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>going to</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m not into guys, anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz grabbed his crystal to check the time. The next bus out to town was leaving in about ten minutes, which meant that they either needed to get going or they were going to have to wait an extra hour.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed himself up to his feet. “We should go. The bus is going to be here soon. Enjoy the end of your lunch, guys!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Riz!” Danielle said with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can leave the cooler here,” Tracker told him. “Kristen and I can bring it up after our shift so that you don’t have to worry about lugging it around all afternoon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re the best,” he said with a nod. “See you guys tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all said their goodbyes and then he was heading back up the trail with Fabian toward the front of the hotel where the bus would pick them up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I have a motorcycle. We don’t need to take that horrible bus,” he offered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz thought about it for a moment, thought about riding into town with his arms around Fabian’s waist. It took everything in him not to visibly shudder. Besides, his mom would kill him if he rode on someone else’s motorcycle without a helmet, which he assumed would be the case with Fabian’s bike. Like, he wouldn’t tell his mom, but she would know. She always kind of did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t,” he replied. “We have to carry all the groceries back, remember? It wouldn’t be feasible for us to carry much of anything with you driving and me, er, holding on to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is an excellent point, The Ball,” he said with a sigh. “I suppose we’ll have to take the bus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He opened his mouth to say that it wasn’t so bad, but he wasn’t sure that was true. Sure, Aguefort was a pretty chill guy, that much was definitely a positive thing about taking the bus. But, the truth of the matter was, it was still a bus shaped like a pirate ship which was infinitely tacky, even by Riz’s standards.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll survive,” he said instead. “It’s only a bus ride.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Two</span>
  </em>
  <span> bus rides,” he corrected. “One into town and one back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that, well, that was a fair point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only two bus rides,” he amended. “I mean, Gorgug’s van is out of the shop but he doesn’t get off work until six so it’s not like he can drive us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian took a deep breath, as if he were preparing to go off to war. “It’s only two bus rides. How bad can it be?”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The bus ride was worse than any bus ride that Riz had been on in his life and that was saying something because Elmville public transportation wasn’t exactly the most amazing thing in the world.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And, unsurprisingly, it was 100% Fabian’s fault. He spent the entire bus ride into town complaining about having to take the bus and claiming that he was too good for it, that he had never stooped so low as to take a bus before. Riz wanted to throttle him and, in a twist of fate, Arthur Aguefort was </span>
  <em>
    <span>silent </span>
  </em>
  <span>during the ride into town until he let them off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Enjoy your date,” he said as they got off, smiling tightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?!” he exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t honestly think-” Fabian started as Aguefort closed the doors and drove off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was he pranking us?” Riz asked in disbelief. “I mean, we’re going into town in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>middle of the day</span>
  </em>
  <span>. On a Sunday, no less!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He must be,” he agreed. “No offense, The Ball, but I think even Aguefort can see that you and me? It’s never going to happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Never,” he agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t even like guys,” Fabian said with a quick laugh that made Riz unsure as to whether that was actually true but, frankly, he didn’t really give a shit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t really like anyone,” Riz told him which, while he hadn’t historically been one to share personal information like details about his sexuality with strangers, was the complete and honest truth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was something in Fabian’s face that he couldn’t completely register, but he chose not to dwell on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, to the grocery store?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz shook his head. “This is my day off. I plan to do more than just chores. I’m going to go to the library. Adaine has been singing its praises all week and I need to get my card set up anyway. Besides, the girl in charge is pretty cool.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aguefort’s daughter?” Fabian asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I’m not much one for spending my afternoons at a </span>
  <em>
    <span>library</span>
  </em>
  <span> rather than on a beach or a bloodrush field but I can admit that Ayda Aguefort </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> pretty cool,” he said. “You know, she’s lived a number of lives since she’s half-phoenix. It’s actually kind of disconcerting when you think about it because Arthur Aguefort masquerades as a perfectly normal human man when he’s been skirting death for hundreds upon hundreds of years. He might even be older than my grandpapa back in Fallinel for all I know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe we can ask her,” Riz suggested as they walked into the library.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time, it was Ayda at the desk rather than the old man that had been there when he had visited the week prior.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ve returned,” Ayda said, looking up at him. “Adaine mentioned that you might come today to get a library card so I made sure that I could be at the desk when you got here. I just need your ID card from work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reached into his wallet and pulled it out. “Here you go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ayda!” Fabian said. “How long has it been? You know, the party this week was an open-invitation sort of thing. You could have come if you wished.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How would I know that I was allowed to come to a party that I wasn’t invited to?” she asked. “I didn’t see posters around town that said everyone please come and you’ve barely even been into town to say hello since your friends got here. I’m not upset about the party, though. I don’t really enjoy big parties very much anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me neither,” Riz agreed. “Don’t worry, you didn’t really miss out on anything interesting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I heard it was quite interesting,” she replied. “Adaine said that you roasted an entire pig and that there were very expensive drinks in a cooler that you didn’t have to pay for.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, next time I’ll be sure to invite you,” Fabian promised. “Then you can come if you want to but you don’t have to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t invite me to a party just because you think you should,” she told him. “We aren’t friends, Fabian. I don’t understand why you would invite me to a party.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re friends!” he protested. “I’ve known you for years!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Friends don’t ditch friends for people that say mean things about them, like Penelope Everpetal says about me,” she replied. “It’s okay. Adaine is my friend now and also Gorgug, who is the greatest wizard of all time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be your friend, Ayda,” Riz offered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. “Very well. We are friends now.” She handed him a card with a compass on it. “And here is your library card, so that you can visit more often.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Ayda,” he said with a nod. “Now I was just wondering if there was a section specifically on like local lore and stuff. I’m interested in reading up about Bayside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Reading up about Bayside?” Fabian asked. “It’s the most boring town in the history of the world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bayside actually has quite a rich history,” Ayda told them, pointing toward a shelf to their life. “There is a small section about the region at the end of that aisle near the bottom. I hope that you can find what you’re searching for.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks again, Ayda,” he said before heading toward the section she had pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you even looking for?” Fabian asked, looking down at him as he squatted in front of the shelves looking at the spines of the books.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t really know,” he replied. “I’m just interested in knowing more about the town while I’m here. I can’t really work on my cases, so I might as well learn </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> in case anything ever comes up and my services are needed here in Bayside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, if you need to know anything about the town, I’m probably better equipped to give you information that’s actually useful than </span>
  <em>
    <span>A Farmer’s Guide to Bayside</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if I need to know about grain production?” he asked. “Or about which fruits are native to the region?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m struggling to come up with any scenario in which that could possibly be the case.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz sighed and pinched his nose. “Why don’t you go find a book to check out or something? There has to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re interested in reading.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t really have much time for reading,” he replied. “I’m training to be a master fencer like mama and hopefully a fearsome pirate like my papa and now I’m going to be working at the hotel as well? When would I even read, The Ball?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Literally right now while we’re in the library,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian made a face. “I’m going to go take a walk and I’ll be back in an hour. Enjoy your time reading about grain or whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He walked off and Riz felt like he could finally breathe. The worst part of having only one friend was that you only had one friend but, at the same time, he really appreciated having some alone time and when Adaine was around and he was trying to work on stuff, she was always quiet and respectful. Having time alone to do some reading, as he had planned on doing initially, was a massive relief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ended up grabbing a few books: </span>
  <em>
    <span>A Farmer’s Guide to Bayside</span>
  </em>
  <span> to spite Fabian, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Creatures of the Bay</span>
  </em>
  <span> which offered a guide to the wildlife in the region, and the largest book in the section, </span>
  <em>
    <span>A Full and Complete History of the Town of Bayside</span>
  </em>
  <span>, which was a book that was actually only published about five years ago and seemed to contain a lot of personal accounts of more recent events, as well as information about older events and legends as told by local historians.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz checked out all three but the book he started reading as he waited for Fabian to return was the last book. Sure, it was a long one, but it also seemed like it would have the most useful information of the three.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He found a few things that were a bit surprising about the tiny vacation town of Bayside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Firstly, it was a relatively new town. Solace, as a whole, had been around for a very long time, long predating the invention of arcano-tech or even the birth of the Kalvaxus, the last Emperor of the Red Waste who conquered the country and was later destroyed for it. Most of the towns were nearly as old as the country itself, mostly having existed as smaller farming villages, often under other names. Bayside, however, was founded nearly 100 years after Kalvaxus conquered Solace, when refugees from Highcourt, non-religious people and people that worshipped gods other than Sol or Helio, escaping a country that would have them dead, immigrated up into the southern part of Solace. Suddenly, it made a lot more sense as to why the town lacked any temples of any kind. Its founders rejected the religion of Highcourt and thus rejected giving any religion too much power in their new haven. He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to find Kristen’s candy at the supermarket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The second thing that surprised him was that there </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> someone that had lived in Bayside before the founding of the town. In a manor in what was now the downtown area. Arthur Aguefort, his newborn daughter, likely on her first life, and their household staff lived in isolation. They lived off the land as he continued to master his arcane craft until the others came and they built a town around that singular manor, which was sold only in the past twenty years to fearsome pirate Bill Seacaster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, was that what was now the little town of Bayside was where the final battle against Kalvaxus took place. The Emperor of the Red Waste had already conquered pretty much the rest of the world and was about to march on Bastion City via the bay because he had decimated the Solisian navy when they had come to aid Fallinel earlier in the war. Queen Alexandria gathered her armies in the woods across the bay and together they took down Kalvaxus and his army in the very place that he sat now, reading this book, long before it was anything at all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ayda hadn’t been joking when she said that Bayside had a rich history, not that she seemed that she was much of one for jokes anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Learn anything interesting?” Fabian asked upon his return to the library.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, actually,” he replied. “This book is a pretty good read. This is definitely an interesting town.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow but nodded. “I’ll have to take your word for it, I suppose.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you do while I was in here?” he asked as they walked out of the library.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged. “I just took a walk. I haven’t spent much time in town as of late. It was enjoyable just to walk around and take it in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Understandable,” he said. “Groceries?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Certainly,” he replied. “Let’s do that.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The supermarket in Bayside wasn’t as big as any of those in Elmville, not even the shitty one next to the train station that he and his mother frequented. It seemed to be a locally-owned place, though, so at least he was going to be supporting the community.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because the store was small and most of the people in the house were semi-familiar with what they stocked, he was able to find almost everything with ease, save for Kristen’s religious candy and the beer that Fig had requested, which he was sure was in the store but he had no means to get since he didn’t have a fake ID and, honestly, didn’t want to be complicit in that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he got to the check-out he realized that he should have accepted everyone else’s share of the bill before coming to the store because, even though he had gotten paid on Friday, his check combined with the money he’d gotten paid for his case still wasn’t enough to cover all these groceries.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian must have seen his panic because he stepped up to the register before him and handed the cashier a shiny silver credit card.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Riz asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He waved him off. “Honestly, The Ball. it’s no trouble. I’ve got the money and it’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>food</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Food that I am going to be eating along with the rest of you. Really, it’s not as if I’ve purchased you a car or something of the sort.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He bit back a sarcastic comment and gave him a curt nod instead. “Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They walked out of the store together, weighed down with groceries, and Riz checked the time on his crystal. “We still have twenty minutes before the bus gets here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we just have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Fabian asked. “Can’t you like, call Aguefort and have him come early.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s literally not how buses work,” he replied. “Not even in small towns like this one. The bus comes when it comes and we just have to be there when it’s time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you been to Basrar’s yet?” he asked him. “It’s an ice cream place on the other edge of the downtown area and it’s quite good. I haven’t been there much since I was a child but if we grab something and come back it might be time for the bus to come.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ice cream did sound pretty good on a hot day like today and, if it was from a place that came recommended by someone who had lived in the town for his entire life, it was probably pretty good.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Riz said with a nod. “It’ll give me a chance to pay you back for at least part of my share of the groceries.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Money isn’t a problem, The Ball. Honestly, you don’t have to pay me back,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll feel better if I do,” he insisted. “I’m not a huge fan of not being even with people. I owe you money and I’m going to pay you back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian sighed. “Alright, then. To Basrar’s!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took off down the street in long stride, Riz having to rush to catch up to him because, while he was a pretty quick guy overall, he still had tiny goblin legs and had to put a tiny bit of effort in to keep up with people that were walking unreasonably fast for absolutely no reason.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Basrar’s Soda Fountain was a small ice cream shop near the edge of town with a white and silver retro sort of theme and a smiling djinn manning the counter. There was a list of flavors on the wall and various supplies for making milkshakes and such, but no actual tubs of ice cream to be seen anywhere in the store.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah! Hello! Welcome to Basrar’s!” he said to them. “I am Basrar. Can I get you anything?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t been here in a while, what do you recommend?” Fabian asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, all of the ice cream is made of pure magical wish energy so if you can imagine a flavor I can make it,” he told him. “People quite like it when I make it a milkshake.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian scratched at the top of his head. “That doesn’t exactly make it any easier to decide.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz stepped forward. “I’ll just have a vanilla milkshake.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vanilla?” Fabian asked. “Really, The Ball? The man can literally create any flavor of ice cream that you can imagine and you choose </span>
  <em>
    <span>vanilla</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged. “I like a classic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I sure hope you understand how incredibly </span>
  <em>
    <span>boring</span>
  </em>
  <span> that is,” he told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not boring!” he protested. “Vanilla is the most popular flavor for a reason. It’s universally known to be delicious!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is a bit boring,” Basrar piped in. “When I tell people that I can create any flavor they can imagine, the only people that choose vanilla are usually small children who their parents say are picky eaters.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you do like a caramel coffee flavor with chunks of cheesecake in it?” Fabian asked. “And then turn that into a milkshake. Or a malt, actually. I want it in a malt. You can make this happen?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As I said, the ice cream is made of pure magical wish energy so I can make any flavor that you can imagine,” he reiterated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perfect,” Fabian said with a smile. “We’ll actually have two of those. I’m not going to allow The Ball to waste his money on a vanilla milkshake when he can have anything in the world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! I-” he started but Fabian slapped a hand over his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this your final order?” Basrar asked, looking to Riz in what seemed like concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely,” Fabian said with a nod. “And he’s paying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reached into Riz’s pocket and pulled out his debit card.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz finally wriggled out of his grasp and snatched back the card before digging into his wallet and pulling out a few silver, slapping them on the table as he glared at Fabian. “I’ll be paying in cash, thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Basrar handed him a few copper pieces back and got to work as the two of them sat across from each other at one of the booths to wait.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why did you screw up my order?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m only saving you from yourself,” Fabian said with a sigh. “As I said earlier, you’re far too uptight and, if I’m going to be honest, ordering a vanilla milkshake was just more proof of that. Let loose a little. Try something new.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He squinted at him. “You don’t really seem like someone who let’s loose that often, beach party notwithstanding.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m perfectly able to-” he started, but stopped after a moment. “Perhaps I </span>
  <em>
    <span>sometimes</span>
  </em>
  <span> struggle to let loose from time to time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Basrar appeared in front of them and handed them their malts. “Here are your drinks. Thank you for visiting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz held up his malt. “To learning to stop being uptight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Fabian said, clinking their glasses together. “To that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, he was still a pretentious asshole, but maybe this was progress. Maybe he would be able to survive the summer with him until he earned the respect of his dad.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Surprisingly, the others didn’t take much issue with Fabian moving in. Maybe it was the fact that he had paid for all their groceries or maybe it was because the returners had been so adamant about his dad being kind of a wildcard, but they accepted him into the group with relative ease and were happy to teach him how to cook before dinner and chat with him throughout the evening. He even went surfing with the beach crew after they finished eating, which tonight consisted of pretty much everyone except him and Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think this could be a good thing,” Adaine told him as he sat on her dresser, looking out the small window in her room and watching the group walking toward the beach, laughing and chatting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “Still sucks to have a roommate. I kind of liked having the room to myself. Now I can’t spend as much time working on my cases at night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You see, that’s exactly one of the good things that I see coming from this arrangement. I don’t mean to sound like your mum, but it isn’t healthy for you to be up all night working, especially now that you’re working the early shift over at The Harpy,” she told him, as she gestured with what appeared to be some sort of scroll or something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow and pointed to it. “What the hell is that? Did you rob a museum or something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s what?” she asked, tucking the scroll behind her back and turning bright red.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adaine, I may not be a wizard but I’m not stupid either,” he said, nodding toward the hand that was holding the scroll behind her back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed and handed it to him. “It’s honestly nothing. I took it because it looked relatively harmless.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He unrolled the scroll to find that it was actually a menu from The Harpy, just in a different format from the standard menus they usually used. As soon as he let go of the bottom, it completely rolled up again. “Seems like an old menu. I see why they rejected this design. It’s not very user-friendly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tossed it back to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like I said, relatively harmless.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So why, exactly, did you take it?” he asked her. “Doesn’t seem very in-character for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine chewed on her lip for a moment. “Aelwyndaredme.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, could you repeat that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a deep sigh and ran a hand over her face. “I caught Aelwyn sneaking down to the beach for a few minutes during her shift and I got on her about following the rules and how she’s going to get a strike if she gets caught. I mean, Gorgug was half a minute late for his shift yesterday and </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> got a strike so it’s only logical to believe she’d face repercussions for an unofficial break, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” he agreed with a nod. There was no arguing with the fact that Goldenhoard was a hardass.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, I was being totally reasonable but then she said that I never take any risks or do anything wrong so she dared me to steal something from somebody’s room,” she finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He snorted. “That checks out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean</span>
  </em>
  <span> it checks out?” she asked furiously. “Are you saying that I’m a thief?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not saying you’re a thief,” he replied. “I’m saying that the nature of your relationship with Aelwyn is that if either of you ever dares the other to do something, you’ll do it out of pure, unadulterated spite.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine tried to say something but couldn’t seem to come up with an argument, so she crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just a menu,” he reminded her. “No big deal, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You questioned my honor,” she stated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, actually, I didn’t,” he replied. “I merely stated a fact and you took offense. You’re literally holding the evidence in your hand right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed. “You don’t think someone is going to miss this, do you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think that, if you found this in somebody’s room, it was probably just left there a long time ago and never cleaned up,” he told her. “I mean, it’s an old menu. I don’t see any logical reasoning as to why a guest would just have that around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should I put it back?” she asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Up to you, honestly. Show it to Aelwyn, obviously, but then you can probably do whatever with it. Maybe tell Goldenhoard that you found it in the hallway or something. Or just keep it. I don’t think anyone is going to miss an outdated menu.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I’ll give it to Ayda so she can keep it in the library as like a memento of the hotel’s history or something,” she contemplated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think Ayda wants an old menu for the restaurant in the hotel her dad manages,” he replied, wrinkling his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right,” she said with a nod, setting it on her nightstand. “I’ll probably just keep it around for new staff to find next summer or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it late enough on my day off to start working on a case?” he asked her after a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” she exclaimed. “No cases until tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, until midnight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian’s here,” she reminded him. “Guess you’ll have to just go to bed on time instead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz groaned. “This is it. This is the death of my entire career.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Usually you’re not nearly this dramatic,” she noted. “Have you been spending time with my sister? Or, no, it’s because you spent the afternoon with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fabian Aramais Seacaster</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He groaned again. “Not by choice, mind you. I needed an extra pair of hands for the groceries and he kind of just tagged along. It was a good thing, in the end, I guess. I didn’t really have the money to pay for them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly, if he’s willing to pay for our food, I’m really not going to complain about him living here,” Adaine said with a shrug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So he should get anything he wants just because he has money?” Riz asked. “Including friends?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not usually the one to say this, but you need to give him a chance,” she said with a sigh. “Literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> who was here last summer says that he can be nice when his other friends aren’t around. Maybe we can persuade him to keep up that behavior after they return.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He forgot that he hadn’t told her the details about what Penelope and Dayne were saying about Fabian or about the interaction they had. But it wasn’t really any of her business anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> giving him a chance,” he insisted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not mentally,” she replied. “You’ve already decided that he’s an arsehole and you refuse to let him change your mind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adaine, he’s-” Riz started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope!” she said, cutting him off. “You’re probably going to be sharing a room with him all summer. Best to make the most of it, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This sounds suspiciously like the very advice I gave you about Aelwyn last year.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged. “It was good advice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve already decided to tolerate him,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aim higher.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz sighed. “Fine. I’ll give him a real chance.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, Riz got less sleep than usual that night, and, by somehow, he meant because of Fabian. First of all, the guy was a very restless sleeper, flopping back and forth on his bed and mumbling to himself all night. Secondly, he needed to listen to “ambient noise” to fall asleep which, in his case, was the sound of swords clashing. In what world could that ever be considered ambient?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And, when Riz got up to work on his cases since it didn’t seem like he was going to get any sleep anyway, Fabian had the </span>
  <em>
    <span>nerve</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say that he was disturbing </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> sleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ended up going downstairs and sleeping on the ratty couch in the living room for two hours before he had to get up for work. Fuck what Goldenhoard said about same-gender rooms. There was an open bed in Adaine’s room and he might just take it. He already used their shower today when Fabian decided to hog the upstairs bathroom for an entire hour. He just felt bad for Gorgug, who had been patiently waiting outside and jumping from foot to foot for over 45 minutes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You left last night,” Fabian observed as they walked toward the hotel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great observation,” he replied coolly. “You know, if Gorgug is late to his shift because he couldn’t get into the bathroom, he’s going to get a second strike.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I had to get ready too,” he reasoned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian, you don’t live alone anymore,” he snapped. “If you’re going to be living in the staff house this summer then you need to learn to live with other people. That means limiting your morning routine or starting earlier and it means not blasting fucking swordfights when your roommate is trying to get some sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t know I was bothering you,” he said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How could that </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> bother me?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to tell me these things,” Fabian replied. “I told you that you working on your board was bothering me and you stopped. If you would have complained about the noise, I would have turned it off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I shouldn’t have to complain about something like that! It’s obvious!” he exclaimed. “Like I get that you’ve never cared about another person in your life but </span>
  <em>
    <span>my gods</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He frowned. “I’ve cared about people before. I care about my mama and my papa. And I care about Cathilda. I’m just not well versed with having to share a room. Really, The Ball, it’s not very cool of you to assume I don’t care about people just because I haven’t lived the same life that you have.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, Riz wondered if he might have acted more like that if he had money. He was an only child, just like Fabian. The only reason he was more familiar with sharing spaces was because he and his mom could only afford a one-bedroom and his “room” was just a subsection of their living room. Not to mention that the walls were already pretty thin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he said slowly. “I went too far. I’m overtired and that was a shitty thing to say. You don’t have to worry about it anyway, I think I’m gonna crash in Adaine’s room from now on anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to. I’ll stop with the noise,” he insisted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a restless sleeper. I can’t deal with all the flipping,” he explained. “And the talking. And making motorcycle sounds.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it’s because of the new bed,” Fabian replied. “I just have to get used to it. I haven’t been told that I’m a restless sleeper in the past. This isn’t my first time sharing a room, you know. The circumstances in the past were just very different. If you’re concerned, I can buy you some earplugs or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow. “Why do you care so much? I don’t think anyone would mind if I moved to their room. Well, besides Goldenhoard, but he doesn’t have to know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged and didn’t quite meet his eyes. “You shouldn’t have to move because of me and the girls definitely shouldn’t have to have a fourth person in their room just because someone moved into an empty bed upstairs. If it really bothers you so much, I could speak with my papa about moving back into the penthouse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “Shit. No. You don’t have to. We’ll give it another go, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” he agreed with a soft smile. “But this time, please don’t hesitate to tell me when you take issue with my behavior. You certainly didn’t hesitate to do so before last night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz laughed. “I won’t. Trust me, man. I’m not going to let you off the hook again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together, they walked into the hotel together and toward The Harpy. Having to work together was probably going to be a whole new set of challenges.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The workday was challenging, but not because of Fabian. He was actually not really bothersome to Riz at all, because Doreen had assigned him to be a host rather than another waiter or a cook so their interaction was fairly minimal. No, it was the customers that were driving him up the wall. Somehow, they all seemed even crankier than him and were being extremely clumsy today. He wasn’t exactly a fan of getting a shirt full of scrambled eggs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>During the lunch rush, he walked over to a table where a small family was sitting and handed them their food.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, this is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the mother said. “I ordered the mariner's burger, not the ribeye.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I ordered the opposite!” the father added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” he said with a nod, reaching out to switch their plates. “I must have written it down in the wrong order. Very sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The mother wrinkled her nose. “So you’re just going to give me </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> food?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that’s your food, I just set it in front of him by accident,” he explained to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t that unsanitary?” asked the father.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their daughter, who appeared to be about eight or nine, looked like she was going to completely dissolve into her seat. He kind of felt bad for the girl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Neither of you touched it,” he told them. “And you’re part of the same party so I think it’s safe to assume that you aren’t strangers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re married,” said the mother, wriggling the hand with the wedding thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, so even if one of you had touched the food then it wouldn’t really matter if I still switched them,” he pointed out. “I’m sure you’ve shared germs before if you’re married.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The father furrowed his eyebrows. “I have no idea what you’re implying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened. “Nothing! I was just saying that it really shouldn’t be a problem if-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want you to remake our food,” the mother requested. “For free. And if we could get a more competent waiter, that would be excellent. Clearly, Seacaster Resort needs to take another look at the staff they hire. Perhaps I’ll have a word with your manager.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he started. Fuck, a week into this job, and this woman was going to get him fired.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there a problem?” Fabian asked, stepping next to Riz.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, there is,” the father said. “This waiter-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He held up a hand. “I wasn’t asking you?” He turned toward him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I accidentally swapped their food so I switched it back,” he explained. “Which I honestly don’t think is a very big deal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He should be fired,” the mother snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Fabian said with a tight smile. “Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> who I am?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The host?” asked the mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fabian Aramais Seacaster</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he snapped. “I’m the son of Bill Seacaster, owner of this resort and the greatest pirate who ever lived. I will not stand by and watch you harass a member of our staff on the grounds of the resort that’s my birthright!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The nerve!” the mother exclaimed, grabbing her husband’s hand. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have a nice day!” he called after them. “Your bill will be charged to your room. With 20% tip for The Ball here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m very sorry,” the girl said quietly before taking off after her parents.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz looked to Fabian with wide eyes. “You stood up for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged nonchalantly. “What’s the point in having a noteworthy name if you can’t throw it around to help your friends?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Friends,” he echoed with a smile. “Thank you, Fabian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly, it wasn’t such a big deal, The Ball,” he said with a shrug. “I wasn’t going to sit by and watch you get verbally abused by a pair of idiots.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we’re doing a bonfire on the beach tonight after work to celebrate Gorgug’s birthday if nobody has told you yet,” he informed him. “You should come and hang out with us. You’re a pretty cool guy, actually.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian smiled brilliantly. “I would love to come.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. summer love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>there is a scene that discusses emotional abuse near the end, starts with "He approached Sam at the beach that night" and then ends pretty much at the next horizontal line. it's pretty essential to the chapter ngl but if you need to skip it, it isn't necessarily the root of the story as a whole!<br/>progress has been slow bc training for my new job is kicking my ass but I'll work on it this weekend!!!<br/><a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">find me on tumblr!</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Are you taking cases?” Aelwyn asked as she burst into his room one day after work while Fabian was off working the dinner shift.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the board he was actively working on. “Do you have one for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” she said with a resolute nod, inviting herself to sit on his bed. “I have a case of great import for you. I’ve been trying to handle it myself but, frankly, I lack the time to solve it and I think you could do better, given your previous experience and the fact that you get off work in the early afternoon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you willing to pay for my services?” he asked. “You might be Adaine’s sister, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to pay just like everyone else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waved him off. “Yes. I’ll pay whatever your </span>
  <em>
    <span>fee</span>
  </em>
  <span> is. It’s a small case anyway, so I can’t imagine that it will take you very long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” he said with a nod, setting down the things in his hands and turning to face her. “What is this case that you so desperately need me to solve?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Today, I got a strike from Goldenhoard,” she began. “Apparently, the rumors about him being unable to go outside were a load of rubbish. He caught me when I told my supervisor that I needed to pee and went down to the beach instead, something that I’ve been doing without getting caught since we started working here. Honestly, I don’t see why he cares so much. Hallariel is always in the spa and I’m fairly certain she already knows about it but she’s never said anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, they’re paying you to do a job and you aren’t doing it, so I see why he might have given you a strike,” he replied. “If that was the case, honestly you can just take my advice free of charge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes. “That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> the case. Merely a bit of background.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then get to the point,” he said, gesturing for her to continue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” she said with a nod. “So, do you know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’ve been sneaking down to the beach so much?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adaine says you’re probably trying to either get a tan or find someone rich to date,” he replied. “But I have a feeling that you’re going to tell me the actual reason. Is it buried treasure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She snorted. “It is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>buried treasure. She actually wasn’t that far off with her second guess but it’s not precisely the truth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the truth is,” he encouraged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, this isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy</span>
  </em>
  <span> for me,” she snapped. “There seems to be this impression that my life was easy just because it wasn’t as difficult as Adaine’s was.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m literally just asking you to continue,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” she sighed. “Right, sorry. I’ve been going down to the beach to hang out with Sam. I always come up with some excuse, like pretending I was sent or something, but they’re never real.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You like Sam?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She paused for a moment before nodding. “I want to hire you to figure out three things. Firstly, I need to know if she likes girls at all or if all my flirting has merely been in vain. I know you haven’t seen much of it in action because you seem to have some unreasonable fear of not being inside working all the time but I feel like she either knows or she thinks I’m being friendly. Secondly, I need to know if she’s seeing somebody because I’m not about to cause more drama here than I have to if it could be avoided. Finally, I need you to figure out if she likes me because I like her but I don’t want to make a fool of myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I should just ask her for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not!” she shouted. “If you just go and ask her about it then she’ll know that I like her and that I hired you to figure out if my feelings are reciprocated which is infinitely more embarrassing than just asking her myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re making too much of a big deal out of this,” he told her. “If you like Sam, then just tell her. Even if she doesn’t like you back, Sam isn’t really the type of person that would throw away your friendship over it or cause drama with the staff or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to be paid or not?” she asked. “Honestly, I thought this would be right up your alley. It’s a local case, so it’s much easier to solve than those back in Elmville, and you have afternoons off, which is when Sam works, so you can observe her in action.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you want me to stalk this girl you like so you don’t have to,” he summarized. “Do you see why I might take issue with that from a moral standpoint?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointed to a picture on his board of a young halfling man eating dinner that he shot through a window because his boyfriend thought he was cheating. “That is literally the creepiest stalker photo I have seen in my life. In fact, I am an elf who is going to live for hundreds of years and I seriously doubt that in any of them I will find a creepier stalker photo unless you go so far as to take another.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well I don’t know him personally,” he reasoned. “Sam is actually sort of my friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then be a friend to her and discreetly pry for information,” she suggested. “Covertly question her friends. Really, Riz, I’m not here to tell you how to do your job but it seems that you’re offering a lot of criticism to a potential client when really you should just accept the case and stop questioning me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just don’t see how hanging around the beach and spying on Sam is going to answer any of your questions,” he told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’ll have to figure that out then,” she said with a shrug before leaving the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” he muttered to himself, grabbing his small notepad from off his dresser.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t particularly </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do this case. Sam was super nice and he thought that maybe they were friends, even if he still didn’t completely understand what made somebody a friend versus an acquaintance that you’re on good terms with. What’s more, the entire thing felt kind of manipulative whether they ended up together or not. But Riz had been feeling like he was losing his skills as a private detective by not being able to use them as much on a day-to-day basis so this was kind of the break he needed right now. And, after all, there wasn’t really any harm in asking a few questions.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Contrary to the popular rumor going around the staff house, Riz didn’t have any sort of fear of beaches or the ocean or anything. Actually, the fact that Adaine had allowed that rumor to spread made it all the more absurd because they went to the pool together numerous times the previous summer and had done a beach trip last year to celebrate Aelwyn and Adaine’s new apartment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And sure, he wasn’t the most muscular guy in the world, but he loved his body how it was, even if he was too spiny by others’ standards, so that wasn’t a reason to avoid the beach either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In fact, he hadn’t really been avoiding the beach at all. He had been avoiding </span>
  <em>
    <span>surfing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, sure. He didn’t know how to do that and didn’t care to make a fool of himself while he learned, even though he knew not even the most versatile of rogues could have expertise in everything. But going to the beach didn’t necessarily mean having to surf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The real reason that Riz hadn’t been going to the beach with everyone was that, because he was working full-time at the resort this summer, he needed his afternoons and evenings to work on private investigator stuff. And, well, he didn’t like the heat that much, but mostly the private investigator stuff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking this case not only encouraged Riz to go to the beach, but it encouraged him to do so. He considered just going there to hide out and watch but decided that was beyond creepy so he was going to have to put his crappy deception skills to as good of a use as he could and pretend that he was just going to the beach to hang out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell are you doing, The Ball?” Fabian asked when he walked into the room to see Riz in only his swim trunks with a towel thrown over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Going to the beach,” he replied, gesturing toward his own body. It was fairly obvious. He was even wearing flip-flops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you allergic to the sun?” Fabian asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a vampire, dude. Is that the current rumor going around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfectly normal people can be allergic to the sun, The Ball,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “One of the teenagers that are staying with my grandpapa right now is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not allergic to the sun,” he told him. “I don’t know why you think that I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do know why people think these things,” Fabian asserted. “If you hadn’t you wouldn’t have asked if it was the “current rumor”. You don’t go outside if you can avoid it. I think it’s a reasonable guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just busy usually,” he replied. “You know I do other work besides being a waiter here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Ball, you just move around the same five pictures and pin on red yarn as if it will magically solve your cases for you. Cases which, may I add, aren’t even local.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need a refresh,” he lied. “I think that some time out on the beach would do me some good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian squinted at him for a moment and then his face relaxed. “Alright, then. Do you want some company? It’s my day off and I don’t have much better to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His first instinct was to say no. It would be harder to investigate and get the information that he needed if he had someone else peeking over his shoulder. But, at the same time, his historical lack of presence at the beach could give him away, and having Fabian with him could help it seem more plausible. Besides, he couldn’t really think of a good excuse to justify not allowing him to come with that wouldn’t ruin this friendship that had been slowly building between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Just get ready quickly. I’m already good to go and I don’t want to be waiting around for another 45 minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can get ready fast,” he said a bit argumentatively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” he said with a nod, completely unconvinced. “I’ll wait downstairs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he got down to the living room, Gorgug was lying facedown on the couch, chunky headphones over his ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, are you o-” Riz started before realizing that he probably couldn’t hear him and poking him instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug burst upright and dragged his headphones down, looking at Riz with surprise. “Are you going to the beach?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he told him. “Are you okay, man?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Long shift,” he replied. “Goldenhoard has been less on my ass than usual but sometimes I need his help with stuff at the desk and guests can be </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> mean when you can’t get them checked in instantly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have that exact experience but I relate immensely,” he said with a small laugh. “Do you want to come to the beach?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chewed on his lip for a moment. “I mean, you’re ready to go. I don’t want to keep you waiting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m already waiting on Fabian,” he told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug nodded. “I’ll be right down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After about fifteen minutes, after five of which Gorgug was good to go, the three of them were heading toward the beach together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we can rent boards when we’re there,” Gorgug said. “I mean, as long as there aren’t guests using them, we’re allowed free rentals!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I have a nice one up in the penthouse but sure,” Fabian said with a shrug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz shook his head. “Absolutely not. No surfing for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it’s the best surfing in the country!” Fabian exclaimed. “Honestly, The Ball, you won’t see waves like here anywhere else, unless you’re planning a trip to Stellemere in the middle of winter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-” Riz scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve never actually surfed before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I had never surfed before I got here,” Gorgug told him. “Can’t exactly surf in the Dune Fort. But I’ve been learning and I’m getting pretty good, I think!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that hard, really,” Fabian insisted. “And I’m sure Sam or Ragh would be willing to give you free lessons when they’re not on the clock like they’ve been doing for Gorgug, Aelwyn, and Fig.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “No thanks. I don’t think it’d really be my thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian hummed thoughtfully. “We’ll table this for now but, frankly, I think it would be ridiculous if we let you get away with working at Bayside for a summer and never once trying to surf. Adaine too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the good news is I grabbed this,” Gorgug said, holding up a volleyball.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you bring a ball? We’ve already got one,” Fabian replied, completely deadpan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A weird string of emotions crossed Gorgug’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s saying that because he calls me The Ball,” Riz explained. “It’s just a stupid nickname that he gave me a while ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Gorgug said, still looking confused. “An inanimate object can’t be someone’s dad, can it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Fabian asked eyebrows high on his forehead. “Are you insinuating that this volleyball is your father?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged. “I mean, we can never truly know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> know and it’s not your father,” he snapped. “Gorgug, every day you think someone new is your father. Let me help you narrow it down: your dad is probably an orc, a human, or somewhere in between.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug looked seriously hurt by this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, the beach!” Riz exclaimed, running ahead. “Let’s go swimming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dropped his things in the sand and sprinted into the water before they could say anything to stop him, Gorgug following close behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The water felt cool on his skin compared to the hot summer air but it was still warmer than the beach that they usually drove to up north.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nice, isn’t it,” Gorgug said with a smile as he flopped backwards into the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian finally walked over, designer sunglasses still perched on his nose. “Do you really have to run into the water like a pair of dogs? It’s not going anywhere. You can walk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz dove into the water and popped back up. “You don’t have to make fun of other people for having fun, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held up his hands as if in surrender. “I’m just telling you. You look like a couple of nerds and thus are making </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> look like a nerd.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who cares?” Gorgug asked. “It’s the beach! Everyone here is just having fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian glanced around the beach for a moment before speaking in a low voice. “Between you and me, Aelwyn has been known to sneak down to the beach during her breaks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Gorgug replied, nodding in understanding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why does it matter if </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aelwyn</span>
  </em>
  <span> is here?” Riz asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude,” Gorgug said in a hushed tone. “Fabian </span>
  <em>
    <span>likes</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aelwyn. I don’t know how he hasn’t told you about it yet, seeing as you live together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged. “I didn’t trust you not to tell Adaine. It’s really nothing personal, The Ball. She’s your best friend and I don’t know what you share with her behind closed doors.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Firstly, I wouldn’t tell Adaine because it’s extremely unimportant,” he told him. “Also, I can tell you now that Aelwyn isn’t interested and that, for your own sake, you’d be better off just dropping this now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean how sure are you?” he asked. “Because I know you’ve probably known her longer than I have since she’s your friend’s sister, but I haven’t gotten the impression that you two are particularly close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fabian, I am 100% sure that Aelwyn does not, nor will ever, like you like that,” he told him. “It isn’t anything personal. You just aren’t her type.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s true. She seemed quite interested in me when she visited her parents a while back and she spent an entire party making out with me,” he countered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was she drunk?” he asked. “Or high? Both?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes. “It was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>party</span>
  </em>
  <span>, The Ball.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “You aren’t her type.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re sorely mistaken,” he insisted. “It was quite a passionate moment. I actually still think about it fairly often.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz dragged a hand over his face. “Okay, maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> saw it that way but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>promise you</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Aelwyn didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fabian, I think he’s saying that Aelwyn is gay,” Gorgug explained in an unprecedented moment of insight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Fabian said quietly with a nod. “I guess that makes sense. At least I know she’s not avoiding me because she doesn’t like me for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> reasons. That would be highly unrealistic.. It’s simply a matter of gender.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll find someone else, dude,” Gorgug said, squeezing his shoulder lightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I’m sure a woman as lovely as Aelwyn Abernant has some hot friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz wrinkled his nose and tuned out their conversation as he did what he actually came here to do and scanned the beach. First, he clocked Katja, who was sitting up in the lifeguard chair and looking down at the three of them, clearly amused. He scanned over to the small shack where they rented out boards and other equipment, where Ragh was enthusiastically talking to an older man and pointing to the kayaks. Finally, he found Sam, who was farther down the beach, giving surf lessons to a pair of little kids. Obviously, he wasn’t going to get the information that he needed by watching her interact with small children, so he made his way over to Katja’s chair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello up there!” he greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded in greeting and pulled off her sunglasses and set them on the chair behind her. “What are you doing here, Gukgak? This isn’t your usual scene.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had some time to myself today,” he said with a shrug. “Anything interesting here on the beach today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Besides three idiots bounding into the water and instantly arguing over what’s probably something stupid?” she asked. “Nope!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was pretty stupid,” he agreed. “So, boring shift?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For sure,” she replied. “But I prefer it that way. My job is to save people from drowning, so a boring day is a good day. Besides, that means I get to chat with Sam between lessons.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is she doing?” he asked her, happy to shift the conversation to his advantage in a more natural way. “Any interesting students for her today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think she’s doing good,” Katja said with a shrug. “She’s been pretty back-to-back today so we haven’t chatted much. She has an hour off after this group, though, so you can ask her in about ten minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe the beach is actually a pretty chill place to hang out,” he admitted honestly. He had a chance to talk with people he didn’t always hang with and he got to go swimming with Fabian and Gorgug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously,” Katja replied. “Even on a hot day, the water is always nice, and the people are usually kind. The stress of everyday life kinda fizzles away here in favor of pure relaxation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Ball!” Fabian called from the water as Gorgug waved frantically next to him. “Come on! Get back in the water!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The boys are calling,” she told him. “Talk to you later if you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” he said with a curt nod before running in after his friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug immediately grabbed him and fully tossed him into the water, truly giving some strength to the ball nickname, but he was having fun nonetheless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After they had been screwing around in the water for a whole, Sam swam over and popped up next to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t the usual beach crowd,” she noted. “Gorgug, I thought you were playing in The Harpy tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes went wide for a moment but then he relaxed. “Not until 7. I still have some time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is that going?” Riz asked. “I usually work mornings so I almost never hear you guys play.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s good!” he said with a nod. “Fig is working on getting an official concert-type thing set up there so we can rent out the space and advertise for it but Goldenhoard isn’t even offering an employee discount for it so there’s no way we can afford to. Not that we’re ready yet since we only have a few original songs and I’m still learning with drums. We don’t even have a lead guitarist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of the maidens play?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug shook his head. “Penny plays the ukelele but that doesn’t exactly fit with our genre. Fig says that if we can score a big gig she’ll get one of her dads, the one that’s a devil, to come out and play with us. Apparently, he’s really good and the trip from Bastion City is a lot faster if you go through hell.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gods, don’t tell Aelwyn that,” he said with a shudder. “If it means we can circumvent the cost of the bus and only pay for the train from Bastion to Elmville, she will quite literally march Adaine and me through hell on our way home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if you need me to learn guitar, I’m open to trying as best I can,” Sam offered. “I mean, my work schedule is pretty busy but I can give it a shot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am good at a great many things, but music is very unfortunately not one of them,” Fabian said. “I’ve got a little bard in me but I’m much more of a dancer myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug looked to Riz for a moment but he shook his head. “No dice. Sorry, dude.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed. “I guess Fig’s dad will have to do. If I’m going to be honest, the whole drum thing is still pretty new to me. I mean, I’m a little familiar with singing but instruments are a whole different thing, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s like surfing and waterskiing,” Sam said. “Some people might think that they’re similar because they’re both sports that take place in the water but they require a completely different set of skills.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you bad at waterskiing?” Gorgug asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?” she asked, eyebrows raised. “Of course not. Gorgug, I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>breathe</span>
  </em>
  <span> water. I spent pretty much my entire childhood in the water up in Seawatch, where I grew up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you and the others were from Birchburg,” Riz said in surprise. “At least, that’s what Penny told me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My mom and I moved there a little over two years before Penny did,” she explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That must have been hard,” Gorgug said. “One of my teachers is an earth genasi and he can’t stand planes. I can’t imagine being a water genasi and going away from the water.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged. “It kind of sucked at first. I always loved being on the water. But my mom got a better job so life was easier in general, you know? And then I met the maidens there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where did you meet Penelope then?” asked Fabian, which threw Riz for a loop because he didn’t even know that Sam knew her outside the resort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her dad owns the rig out near Seawatch so we went to grade school together,” she explained. “She lives with her mom now because she goes to that fancy school with Dayne in Ashgrove.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you go to school with them?” Gorgug asked Fabian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “I’m homeschooled.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> explains a lot,” Riz replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian picked him up and threw him back into the water, probably more out of fake anger than actually being pissed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others were laughing when he broke the surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do that!” Katja yelled from the lifeguard chair, but she was most definitely laughing too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been fun having you here this summer, Riz and Gorgug,” Sam said with a smile. “I know the summer has only just begun, but I really hope you come back next year.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I sure like it here,” Gorgug said with a smile. “If they have me, I’ll be back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz shrugged. “I have no idea what next summer is going to look like for me in terms of cases but I think it’d be cool to come back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make sure you bring Aelwyn and Adaine too,” she said with a smile, but Riz wasn’t able to read her well enough to tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> she wanted him to tell Aelwyn. Could be romantic, could be platonic, could just be the polite thing to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure they’ll want to come,” he assured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A hand caught his back and he got dunked under the waves yet again, catching a glance of a laughing Ragh once he emerged at the surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On my fifteen, dudes,” he told them. “Thought I’d pop over and say hi. It’s not often that you get The Ball in the water. I thought you were a vampire, man! Fabian said you were allergic to the sun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>neither</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said, glaring at Fabian. “Just busy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Aelwyn?” he asked. “She comes out here to chill most afternoons but I haven’t seen her at the beach in a couple of days.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goldenhoard caught her on the beach,” he replied. “Apparently, he goes outside now, which means that I’m no longer any more at risk than the rest of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, if she’s not allowed to come to the beach then how is she supposed to get sand for the spa now?” Ragh asked, clearly confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shit. He had forgotten that Aelwyn had come up with lies to justify her being on the beach and he didn’t realize she has come up with lies as stupid as this. Maybe love could turn even the most accomplished of wizards into fucking idiots.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They must have gotten a new supplier or something,” he lied, practically cringing at his own words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goldenhoard doesn’t want her to come all the way down here anymore,” Fabian explained with a shrug. “They’re getting rid of the local sand treatments. My mama told me all about it when I met her for breakfast last weekend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna miss her out here,” Sam said with a sigh. “But I’m happy to hear it’s just work stuff. I thought she was ignoring me or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head violently. “She’s not ignoring you. You know how Goldenhoard is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Goldenrod fucking sucks, dude,” Ragh agreed. “Majorly blows that he’s been coming outside now. Like, can the dude do anything except criticize?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll probably get sick of the heat and return to his normal levels of recluse soon,” Sam said with a sigh. “Once he realizes that he doesn’t have to deal with what he can’t see, he’ll chill out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s probably just trying to get away from Fig,” Fabian suggested. “She harrasses the man endlessly. It’s quite funny, though. I’ll give her that much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not when he takes it out on </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Gorgug groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ragh threw an arm over him and squeezed his shoulder softly. “It’s okay, dude. You’re doing your best. Whenever I pop inside the lobby I can tell that you’re working hard. Fuck everyone who doesn’t see it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug was able to muster a smile. “Thanks, Ragh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough of all this talking,” Sam said, nodding toward the water. “Race me to the next sandbar?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then she was off, Ragh and Gorgug jumping in mere seconds after.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t fair! I’ve still got my sunglasses!” Fabian protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz was howling in laughter as he jumped in after them, Fabian awkwardly trying to run through the water with his hand holding down his sunglasses not far behind.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Since traditional tactics seemed to be a bust, he decided to chat with Penny about it as she prepared dinner later that evening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I help?” he asked as he popped into the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded and pushed an onion and a knife toward him. “No crying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snorted. “I’ll try my best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They got to work, silently preparing the food side by side as soft orchestral music drifted into the room through Penny’s speakers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hear that you went to the beach today,” she said finally. “I’m glad that you finally did. There were rumors circulating around that you hated the water but I remember that you used to have so much fun at the Elmville pool when you were a kid. I feel like I don’t see that happy little kid in you as much anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz shrugged. “I grew up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t mean that you can’t still find happiness in the little things,” she replied. “That’s why I collect flowers, I think. Being an adventurer can be really hard and it kind of forces you into adulthood, even if you aren’t ready for it. Finding beauty in things that you might pass by if you weren’t looking is important. It reminds you of all the good that there is in the world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His jaw stiffened. “I had to grow up a long time before I started at adventuring school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny sighed but nodded. “You did. And it wasn’t fair. But we still used to have fun after. We used to play stupid games and pretend like all the problems in the world didn’t exist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not anymore,” he said with a shake of his head. “I can’t pretend that the problems don’t exist now that I have the power to fix them. People like my dad shouldn’t die for a better world while I sit around as if there isn’t anything wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were tears dripping down onto his cheeks now. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the onions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned off the stove and walked over to him, removing the knife and the onion from his hands before wrapping him in a warm hug. It might’ve been a long time since she saw him, but she was still like the big sister that he never had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Riz,” she said quietly. “It’s not fair that great people like your dad get taken from us. But, from what I remember of your dad, he wouldn’t have wanted you to overwork yourself in an attempt to achieve the impossible and fix everything in the world, especially not when you’re still just a kid, which you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You already lost him. You don’t want to lose yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded and wiped the tears from his face with a forearm. “Shit, you’re probably right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Next time, I’ll have to cut the onions myself and stick you on sauce duty, won’t I?” she teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, maybe that’s for the best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded toward the dining table. “Pull over a chair. I’ll keep cooking since it’s my job tonight and you can just sit down and chat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, he considered arguing with her but Penny always seemed to get her way when it came to her friends, him included, so he sat down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me about how things are back in Elmville,” she requested. “I feel like it’s been so long since I was back there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There isn’t much to tell,” he told her with a shrug. “It’s still just me and Mom. I’ve been doing some private investigator work recently and I go to Aguefort. That’s where I met Adaine. We study together, mostly, but she helps with my cases too and, occasionally, we find some time to have fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad to hear it,” she said with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you?” he asked. “Birchburg treating you well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “It’s good. I really like it there and the friends I’ve made, they’re just the best in the world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They seem pretty great,” he said with a smile. “And you guys are all really good for each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We really are,” she replied. “Just wait until you meet Zelda. She’s pretty cool too. Her family worships the god of wine and ecstasy so her parents are like the craziest partiers I’ve met in my life but Zelda herself is pretty shy and laid back, when she isn’t in battle, of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I ask you a weird question?” Riz asked. “And will you promise not to tell your friends that I asked?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Ask away, Riz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath before continuing. “I was just wondering if Sam was seeing anyone and like whether she was into boys or girls or both.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, do you like Sam?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, no. I’m not really into anyone. Romance and sex? Not really my thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed. “Sex isn’t really my thing either but if a cute girl were to come to me for romance, I wouldn’t exactly say no. To answer your question, Sam is bi and she’s not seeing anyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Interesting,” he said with a nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you asking for Aelwyn?” she asked curiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes went wide again until he forced himself to relax. “Legally, I can’t answer that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s part of the law but fine,” she laughed. “Me and some of the other maidens have a bet as to when she and Sam are going to get together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So she does like her,” he inferred.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I think so,” Penny replied. “She hasn’t exactly told us anything yet, which isn’t like her, but it sure seems like they’ve been flirting with each other a lot this summer. Did Aelwyn hire you to find that out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Don’t tell her that I told you that. She’ll put some sort of curse on me, I swear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I think that you should tell her that if she wants to be with Sam, she needs to </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk to her about it</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she advised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trust me. I tried,” he told her. “I’ll give it another shot, but I can’t promise anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if they get together this week, then I get paid, so get on it,” she said with a wink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled, happy to have this little carefree moment with Penny again, just like the had before, even if they were talking about something as stupid as Aelwyn’s romantic drama. “I’ll try my best.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“You need to tell her,” Riz told Aelwyn later that evening, pulling her aside before she could leave for the beach with everyone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell Sam,” he told her. “I’m a private detective, not your wingman. If you want to be with her then you have to be straight up about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to pay you for shoddy detective work like this,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First of all, I don’t know if I feel comfortable with you paying me for this from a moral standpoint seeing as you’re both my friends and not complete strangers,” he started. “And, second of all, I’ve been doing fucking fantastic detective work! I’m giving you your answer now: you need to tell Sam how you feel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So she likes me,” Aelwyn said, the faintest bit of a smile pulling at her lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he replied. “Well, most likely. She hasn’t said anything about it but apparently some of the others have a bet about when you two are getting together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you telling me that you still don’t know?” she asked. “And you call that a case solved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve uncovered the following information with 100% certainty: she’s bi and she isn’t seeing anybody. And then a good source told me that she probably likes you. If I’m going to find out whether she likes you for sure, then I need to straight up ask her. I think it would be a little better if it came from you, Aelwyn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aelwyn looked annoyed. “You come here, acting as if you’ve solved the case I hired you for, but you want me to do all the actual work to get the final answer? Not to mention that you’ve clearly told someone I hired you because there’s no other way you would have found out about the bet. Please don’t tell me that you’ve shared any of this with my sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t,” he told her. “And I promise you that she doesn’t care. Not in the “my sister can date whoever she wants” sort of way. I’m pretty sure Adaine genuinely just doesn’t give a shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She snorted. “That sounds like my sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to tell her or not?” he asked impatiently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aelwyn chewed on her lip for a moment before shaking her head. “Give it another day of investigation, see what you turn up. Then I’ll decide whether I want to speak to her or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz wanted nothing more than to scream. He had become a private detective to save lives and find missing people and yet he was getting case after case of relationship drama that he didn’t give a single shit about, but that paid out just as well as anything. He was a serious detective and he wanted serious cases and, when he made significant progress and a stupid case like this, the least he could get was a client that fucking listened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” he said, forcing a smile. “I’ll continue the investigation in the best way I know how.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took off through the woods, back to the beach after the others.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The others were just as surprised to see him at the beach as they had been earlier that day and, honestly, he hadn’t particularly wanted to go, but he had business to deal with and, for once, he couldn’t do it in the comfort of his room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The most surprised was Adaine, who had run into him on his way out as she was returning from her shift, which had run long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to the beach?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup,” he replied, continuing to walk briskly in that direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran to catch up. “I mean, it’s about time, I’m just surprised. No cases to work on tonight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s complicated,” he replied with a shake of his head before quieting his voice so that only she could head. “Technically, yes. But this case is local and I need to go to the beach for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine groaned. “My sister didn’t hire you to get involved in her stupid crush, did she?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He raised his eyebrows. “You knew?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was asking me what your rate was the other day and she’s been hopeless about Sam since we got here,” she replied. “I put the pieces together pretty easily.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz sighed. “She won’t listen to reason, Adaine. Why won’t she listen to reason? All she needs to do is talk to her and she just won’t do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When has Aelwyn </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> listened to reason,” she pointed out which, well, it was a pretty fair point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’m just going to talk to Sam about it,” he told her with a shrug. “At this point, I don’t see what else I can do. I know that’s probably a terrible idea but-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that’s a great idea,” Adaine told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If Aelwyn won’t tell her, then somebody has to,” she reasoned. “And you’re probably the only person that will be able to present it in a factual manner, without too many emotions getting involved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought back to when he had broken down in the kitchen literally a few hours ago before snapping at Aelwyn just now. “I don’t know about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is a case that won’t get solved without honestly,” she said with a shrug. “And I know you can’t stand it when even the smallest of cases go unsolved. That’s why you brought all of those Elmville cases here with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I should tell her?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine nodded. “I honestly don’t see any other option if Aelwyn isn’t going to listen to reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Riz replied with a deep sigh. “I’ll do it.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>He approached Sam at the beach that night, while she was tending to the bonfire as everyone else continued surfing or swimming or, in Adaine’s case, furiously trying to read by the light of the setting sun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Riz!” she greeted with a smile as he plopped onto the log next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Sam,” he replied. “Can I chat with you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked to him in concern. “Of course. What’s up? Is this about Fabian?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fabian?” he asked, eyebrows raised. “Why would this be about him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s about Aelwyn,” he explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pinched her nose and nodded. “Gods, did Ostentatia put you up to this? She won’t leave me alone about it. I swear, if I was ready to have a conversation with her about it, I would.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn, I clearly talked to the wrong maidens about this. The most Penny could give me was that you most likely liked Aelwyn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Penny</span>
  </em>
  <span> sent you? I didn’t think we were that obvious. Or that she would care.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think she </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> care beyond caring about you,” he told her. “And, no, Penny didn’t send me. Aelwyn did. Well, actually, she told me explicitly not to directly talk to you about it but I didn’t really see any other option.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you explain in more detail?” she asked as she poked at the fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aelwyn likes you. She asked me, as a private investigator, to figure out if you liked her back,” he explained, laying out the facts in a simple way, just as Adaine had advised him to do. “I asked around and found out that you were bi and that you were single and that you most likely returned her feelings in some capacity but she was still too nervous to come and talk to you about it, though she certainly didn’t admit it. So, I don’t know, it seemed like it was time to take all this into my own hands. It feels weird to investigate the personal life of one of my friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, but this is Bayside. Weirder things have happened,” she replied with a smile. “Did Aelwyn pay you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet,” he told her. “I still don’t know if I’m comfortable accepting payment for a case like this but she said that she would. Sorry if that diminishes however you feel about her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam chewed at her lip for a moment. “I actually think that it’s kind of cute,” she admitted. “She was so shy about her crush on me that she hired you to see if I liked her back. It’s kind of juvenile but, given that she acts so confident and above it all, it’s nice to see that isn’t really the case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know that she liked you?” he asked her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “Yeah, she isn’t exactly subtle about it. And I never bought the whole “getting sand for the spa” excuse, even if she did have Ragh absolutely sold on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She got a strike because she snuck down here to see you, you know,” he told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do miss her visits,” she admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’ll talk to her, then?” he asked. “Ask her out, maybe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam sighed heavily. “I don’t know if I can. I really like Aelwyn, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for a relationship again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again,” he echoed. “What happened with your last one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She frowned. “I haven’t really spoken about this openly. Not even with the maidens.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t want to push you if you’re uncomfortable,” he told her. “We don’t have to talk about it. I get it. Well, not personally because I’ve never been in a relationship but, like, in general. People are complicated.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that maybe it’s something that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> be talking about,” she admitted. “Because it’s something that I’ve been dealing with on my own for so long. And who better to talk about it with than someone without their own biases like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My ears are open if you need them,” he assured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gods, this isn’t easy,” she said with a frown. “I guess I mentioned it this morning, but I’ve known Penelope since I was a kid. We were best friends and, even after I moved over to Birchburg, we stayed in contact. She’s actually the one that hooked all of us up with this job two summers ago. It was a whole thing because some of the maidens were still on the younger side but Penelope helped get everything sorted because it meant that the two of us could hang out again since her parents were going to pay for her to hang out here over the summer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She hung out with you even though you weren’t rich?” he asked. It seemed weird, considering how she’d treated Aelwyn on the first day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have to understand that Penelope wasn’t always like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sam sighed. “I knew her for years and, in our first summer here, she was actually really nice to us. We were best friends, as always, but she got along pretty well with the other maidens too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dayne happened,” she said in a grim voice. “They got together at the beginning of the next summer and he was this rich religious extremist douche that managed to sweep her up in his everything. He treated us like shit so she did it too. It sucked. Like here was this girl that I had known my entire life and suddenly she was somebody entirely different.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds awful,” he said with a frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was,” she agreed. “But then, out of nowhere in the middle of last summer, she comes by at the end of my shift and asks to go on a walk. I said yes because, </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and I missed her so much. So we talked it out and she was very sweet about everything, talking about all the pressure her mom put on her and about how the kids at her school were all kind of like that, and then she apologized for everything and promised that I always came first in her heart. After we finished walking, just before we went our separate ways, she kissed me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz’s eyes widened. “Wait, you and Penelope kissed? You </span>
  <em>
    <span>dated </span>
  </em>
  <span>Penelope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam nodded. “For pretty much all of last summer. At first, it was great. I really cared about her and sneaking around is kind of fun, to a point. But it got old fast. She still treated me like shit in front of other people and never made any move to apologize to the maidens. Penelope said she was going to dump Dayne so we could be together but she never did and, looking back, I don’t think she ever actually planned on it. The worst part, though, is that I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. I felt so </span>
  <em>
    <span>isolated</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This big huge thing was happening to me and I couldn’t talk to any of my friends about it and then with all the sneaking around, I barely saw them anyway. I never knew that being with somebody could make you feel so alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’m the first person you’ve told?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He frowned. “Sam, you need to talk to the other maidens about this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And tell them that I was dating a girl that treated them so poorly?” she asked. “I can’t lose my friends, Riz. They’re everything that I’ve got.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penelope might have treated them poorly, sure. But, by doing what she did to you, she treated you the worst,” he reminded her. “Penny and the other maidens, they’re your party, your best friends. From what it seems, better friends than Penelope ever was. They won’t abandon you just because you gave somebody a second chance and they used it to hurt you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed but then nodded. “Shit, you’re right. I can’t let her have this hold on my life anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not dating is a valid choice,” he told her. “But if you’re only holding back because of your ex? The only person that you’re hurting is yourself, more so than Aelwyn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do like her,” she said. “But at the same time, how do I know that she’s any different from Penelope? I mean, she comes from a similar background.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s different,” he assured her. “I never thought that I’d speak on the behalf of Aelwyn Abernant and, a little bit over a year ago, I wouldn’t be able to. It’s a long story but to cut it short, Adaine’s parents have always mistreated her and in the past year-and-a-half the two of them moved out and how Aelwyn works her ass off to make sure that she and Adaine always have somewhere safe where they can live. Aelwyn’s parents always gave her everything and, for a long time, she was completely content with that. But now she’s given it all up for the safety and comfort of her little sister. Could you really compare someone like that to Penelope?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam smiled. “No. You couldn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aelwyn likes you. The reason she hasn’t told you is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of shame,” he told her. “Aelwyn isn’t worried about what other people will think about her for liking you. She’s worried about what </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I have been holding myself back,” she admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to force you to talk to her. It’s okay not to be ready, even if you do like her,” he advised. “But if you really do like her even half as much as she likes you, I think you should at least consider it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Riz,” Sam said, knocking their knees together. “And, for what it’s worth, I liked having you here on the beach.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I’ll come by more often, even if it does mean putting my cases aside for a few minutes,” he replied, thinking about what Penny told him earlier about letting go and having fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Ball!” Fabian called from the water. “Are you scared of getting a little wet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like he wants to dunk you in the ocean again,” she told him. “You should go. I think I need to just sit here and think about everything for a little bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” he said with a nod before running off toward his friends. “Let me know if you need anything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz hadn’t been in the water for a minute before he was being picked up from behind and dunked again.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>When he woke up the next morning, he was more exhausted than he’d been in a long time, despite actually getting a pretty good night’s sleep for once. There was something about spending time in the water, even if he was just swimming around and having a good time with his friends, that seemed to zap the energy out of him. Getting up and to work was a challenge that morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily, it was a Wednesday which was actually one of their lightest mornings. It was in the middle of the week, so the long weekend travelers weren’t around, and Tracker offered a Wednesday morning picnic hike where guests could pack food and watch the sunrise up on Sunrise Peak, so fewer people were around to eat in the restaurant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, as if Sol or Galicaea or whoever had descended from the heavens to offer him another miracle, the guests were actually for the most part </span>
  <em>
    <span>polite</span>
  </em>
  <span>. A child spilled his orange juice all over Riz’s shoes and his parents not only apologized but made him apologize too. And then they </span>
  <em>
    <span>tipped extra.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was like the entire world had flipped upside down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig had shown up early too and was playing some of her more ambient songs up on the stage, which overall made the vibe even better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz had a smile on his face when he walked up to table 12 to take their drink order.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To his surprise, the two people at the table were Sam and Aelwyn, sitting on the same side of the booth with Sam’s head on Aelwyn’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to The Harpy, you two,” he greeted them. “What’s the occasion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our first date, actually,” Sam explained. “After you talked to me last night I decided to approach Aelwyn and really talk about things. Being open if the most important part of a relationship and ours would never get off the ground if we kept being so cagey with our feelings.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose I owe you a paycheck,” Aelwyn said. “But I don’t remember what you charge so if you could shoot me a text with the request, that would be great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “No charge. You’re my friends. I can’t take money for something that I should be doing for free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then I owe you my thanks, which is not something that I offer up very freely,” Aelwyn said. “Thank you, Riz, for helping me out in my time of need. If you ever need something that I can help with like if you decide to start dressing stylishly or something, I’m willing to offer up my services.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked down at what he was wearing: his usual button-up with the restaurant apron over it. He hadn’t thought that he dressed that bad at all. “Uhh, thanks. Can I get you two anything to drink?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re good with the water,” Sam replied. “But we need a moment to look at the menu. Thanks again, Riz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz smiled and walked back across the restaurant to check in on one of his other tables. “Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian caught him on the way over. “What’s the deal with them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re together now,” he explained. “I hope that there aren't any hard feelings for you, what with your feelings for Aelwyn and everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No hard feelings,” he said with a smile, a reaction that Riz hadn’t been expecting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good then.” Riz nodded. “I better be getting back to work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian released his arm. “Have a good shift, The Ball.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Riz hadn’t made a vow to himself to let loose a little more, he would make a board to uncover why Fabian was acting so damn weird.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i do think penelope is a very interesting character and i think, both in canon and in this, she genuinely cares for sam, but she is primarily self-serving and sometimes that means other people get hurt so she can reach her goals but damn is the aelwyn sam penelope dynamic something that takes up my brainspace</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. gorgug gets fired</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>the bad kids can have a little antics as a treat. shenanigans if you will.<br/>note the added relationship tag. don't worry: there won't be any cheating with that! clear and open communication only<br/>anyway i know it's not technically Friday but it's 2:30am so i think it counts enough!!!<br/><a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">as always, here's my tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Riz walked into the lobby after his shift at The Harpy, he instantly knew that Fig had a prank in the works. She was hiding behind a plant but not like </span>
  <em>
    <span>full</span>
  </em>
  <span> hiding, more that she had an illusion up and was milling about on the other side of it, occasionally glancing at the desk with a manic grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had been pranking Goldenhoard endlessly since he revealed himself to be a hardass on the first day. Most of them were little pranks, fucking with his coffee or making him slip and fall, but she was pretty relentless about it and Riz almost felt bad for the guy at this point. Sure, Goldenhoard was kind of a dick, but he was just trying to do his job half the time since it was glaringly obvious that Aguefort just did whatever he wanted instead of actually managing anything around the resort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing to that poor man this time?” he asked her, arms crossed over his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Surely, I don’t know what you’re talking about, young man,” she replied in an exaggerated high voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” he said with a nod. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hilda,” she replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And your last name?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also Hilda.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, Fig, your disguises look great but they don’t work without a plan and they certainly don’t work on your friends,” he reminded her. “So, tell me, what’s the prank?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She snickered quietly. “I wired up the key cabinet with a minor explosive so that confetti blows up in his face the next time he goes for the hard keys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t that a little much?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig shrugged, “It’s just confetti.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And a live explosive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A </span>
  <em>
    <span>minor</span>
  </em>
  <span> explosive,” she reiterated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s definitely a crime,” he told her. “Are you aware that’s a crime?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe if I got </span>
  <em>
    <span>caught</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she replied. “Honestly, Goldenrod has no idea that I’m the one doing this shit-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> think he does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-and he definitely can’t pin this one on me,” she continued. “I don’t have access to a key to get into the cabinet and I’m Hilda Hilda right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again, Hilda Hilda is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a very good disguise,” he pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is when I’m still on shift in the restaurant,” she replied. “Did you not see me on the way out? Adaine owed me a favor and had this morning off so I had her prep disguise self to help me out this morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If anyone who’s familiar tries to speak to her the disguise won’t hold up. Adaine is shit at accents,” he told her. “Also, what the hell does Adaine owe you a favor for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was a particularly messy guest that was making her life a living hell and I came to him as a demon in the middle of the night to scare him into cleaner habits,” she explained. “It was a pretty private request. You know how much she hates breaking rules. I think that she would fall over dead if Goldenrod gave her a strike.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t have much of a reply to that because she wasn’t exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He just hoped that Goldenhoard wouldn’t run over to The Harpy after he got pranked and punish Adaine for impersonating her. It was a pretty messy web of lies that Fig had laid out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit,” she gasped, punching him in the arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz fully hid inside the plant, fairly confident that he wouldn’t be spotted even if somebody tried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As planned, Goldenhoard stuck the key in the lock and opened the cabinet of master keys, grumbling as he did so, only to be blasted with a face full of confetti and what looked like a bit of ash. Maybe it was lucky that he was a red dragonborn and thus resistant to fire damage. It was definitely lucky that he didn’t have any eyebrows to get burned off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit,” Riz muttered from under his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig started a bit. “You’re still here?” she hissed back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded and stuck a quieting finger to his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gorgug Thistlespring!” Goldenhoard said through clenched teeth as smoke spiraled out of his nostrils. “Are you responsible for this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug, poor Gorgug, wide-eyed and completely unaware, shook his head. “I had no idea, sir. I don’t know how-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop,” Goldenhoard replied. “Just stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>lying</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Because guests can only access hard keys without a manager during daytime desk hours there are only three keys to that cabinet. There’s the key that I’ve just put into the lock, the one that’s on the bus with Arthur Aguefort, and the one that is hanging from the lanyard on your neck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe they picked the-” he started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I not ask you to stop speaking?” he asked. “The fact of the matter is that either you’ve planted that confetti bomb yourself with the knowledge that I was probably going to be the next one to use it or you’ve abandoned the desk or your keys which then allowed someone else to plant it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sir, I promise-” he tried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The first scenario is enough to warrant instant firing,” Goldenhoard told him. “The other option would merely earn you a strike. Fortunately, you’ve already shown up to two shifts late and thus already have two strikes, so I don’t need to do an in-depth investigation. Hopefully, if you weren’t the one who planted the bomb, this will be enough of a cautionary tale to get the culprit to cease with behavior such as this. Mr. Thistlespring, I suggest that you go collect your personal effects from the staff house. I expect you to be completely moved out by tomorrow afternoon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz turned to Fig with wide eyes. “You have to tell him. You can’t let Gorgug take the fall for your prank.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “You heard Goldenrod. He said that Gorgug is getting fired no matter what because it’s his last strike. It doesn’t do him any good if I also get fired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dragged a hand over his face. “Look, Gorgug didn’t do anything wrong. He shouldn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> two strikes. The first was Goldenhoard setting a precedent for not being late to shifts. His second was literally just because Fabian took too long in the bathroom. You’re going to let his third strike, the one that gets him fired, be because you pulled an over-the-top and poorly thought out prank and didn’t come forward about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll get him back,” she told him, running a wrinkled hand through the graying hair of her illusion. “We can- shit. I’ll figure it out. We need to sneak out of here or we might get implicated. I’ll meet you back at the staff house after my shift.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rushed off in the direction of The Harpy, leaving Riz alone in the plant. For a moment, he considered just going to Goldenhoard with the truth but she was right: that might not get Gorgug his job back anyway, so he stealthed out of the building and made his way back to the house.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>When Riz crept up to the top floor of the staff house, he could hear Gorgug quietly singing behind the other door, some song that he had never heard of about not getting mad and his parents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You in there, Gorgug?” Riz asked as he cautiously knocked on his door. Gorgug was a barbarian but Riz had yet to see him flip out and, well, he didn’t want to see it now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The singing stopped and the door clicked open, revealing Gorgug, who had thick streams of tears falling down his face. He reached up and wiped them away with the sleeve of a hoodie that he had put on, even though it was the middle of summer. “Hey, Riz. What’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw what happened,” he admitted. “I was on my way back from my shift from The Harpy when Goldenhoard, well, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I just wanted to come by and make sure you were okay and everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Gorgug said and, well, you didn’t have to be super insightful to know that was a flat out lie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that you didn’t do it,” he told him. “Goldenhoard is an idiot if he honestly thinks that you did. You’ve been one of the hardest working employees all summer and if he thinks that you’d risk your job for a stupid prank then he’s honestly an idiot. All the evidence points to the contrary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I hire you to find out who did?” he asked, before closing his eyes and sighing. “Wait, I can’t. I don’t have a job anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz patted his arm lightly. “It’s alright, big guy. We’ll get you your job back. Fig is coming up with a plan as we speak.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How does Fig know?” he asked. “Wasn’t she at work when it all happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I texted her,” he lied. Gods, he hated covering her when she needed to own up for her own wrongdoings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, tell her that I really appreciate it, but I could never ask her to risk her job for me,” he said with a sigh. “It’ll be fine. A summer back at the Tree with my mom and dad might be nice. And it was cool to start learning to surf while I was here. I’ll really miss you guys, though. And the band. I guess she’ll have to find a new drummer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was pretty heartbreaking to watch the kindest member of the staff get fired for something that wasn’t his fault and then refuse to let the rest of them risk themselves to help him. Riz didn’t know how, but they were going to get him his job back. They had to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What time are you leaving?” he asked him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Goldenhoard wants me out by tomorrow night and it’s a long ride up to the Dune Fort, so I’ll probably have to leave first thing in the morning if I’m not going to stop in a hotel on the way,” he replied. “I think that Antiope has tomorrow off, so maybe I can ask her to get up early and help me pack the van.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No matter what they were going to do, one night wasn’t going to be enough time to do it. He couldn’t let Gorgug leave that quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you should leave that early,” he advised. “I’m gonna get Fabian to talk to his parents and see what they can do. Maybe one of us can speak with Aguefort too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Riz, I appreciate that, but I can’t really afford to stay in a hotel for longer than I have to if I don’t have a job,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny crashed on Danielle and Ostentatia’s couch last weekend when she was too tired to drive back to the house. Maybe you can stay with them,” he suggested. “I’m sure that they’d be willing to house you for a few days while you get everything worked out. The summer staff looks out for each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed but nodded. “I guess it’s worth asking. It’ll probably be better if I wait until the weekend anyway so that my mom and dad can come pick me up if I have any more issues with the van.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to get you your job back,” he promised Gorgug. “Between me, Fig, and everyone else, we’ll find a way to do it without getting anybody else fired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug smiled, a bit hopelessly. “Thanks, Riz. I’m lucky to have friends as great as you guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Considering the fact that Fig had gotten him fired and he was lying and covering for her, he wasn’t exactly sure that was the truth, even if Gorgug thought it was. Still, there was a chance to make amends.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Fabian got off before Fig did, so he approached him about it next. He was assigned to cleaning dishes for the week, which was clearly a job that he absolutely abhorred, because he seemed to complain the entire time that he cleaned them, regardless if there were people around to hear him or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I simply do not understand why someone can’t soak their bowl after they eat cereal,” he grumbled. “It cakes to the side and becomes nearly impossible to clean off. Also, why don’t we have a dishwasher? When my father gets back, I’m going to force him to get one put into the staff house, even if it means that I have to duel him myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like with swords?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a pirate, The Ball. Of course, we’d be dueling with swords,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That hardly sounds like a healthy father-son relationship,” he noted. “But you do you, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> do me,” Fabian muttered. “Did you come down here just to question the way my family works and watch me clean or did you have something to bother me with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gorgug got fired,” he explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I heard that much,” he replied. “Goldenhoard is truly out to get people this summer but I suppose that if confetti exploded in my face, I wouldn’t be too happy either. It seems obvious to me that this prank wasn’t Gorgug’s doing but Goldenhoard had to take it out on somebody and he was there, the real victim of an admittedly hilarious prank.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need your help,” he told him. “I need you to talk to your parents about getting him rehired. Why should he take the fall for something that he didn’t even do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s hardly fair,” Fabian agreed. “But it hardly does us any good to lose Fig too. I’m assuming this prank was her doing, yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said with a nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, she probably stole his keys to do it,” he continued. “Which means that, if we turned her in, he would still get fired but we’d lose her too. It honestly sucks but there isn’t much we can do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, Fabian, as the child of the resort’s owners, there is definitely something that you can at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do. Gorgug doesn’t deserve to get fired because Fig fucked up. Tell your parents and maybe they can get Goldenhoard to rehire him. Even if Fig does get fired for it, at least she isn’t innocent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian sighed and set down the dishes before turning towards him. “I know that you’re probably not well-versed in the ways of business but, even if my papa did listen to me about this, which I’m not certain that he would, simply telling the assistant manager to un-fire someone is a terrible move.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” he asked. “I thought Danielle was fired and then rehired by your dad last summer. Doesn’t seem like it was too much of an issue then.:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Danielle was fired for an arbitrary reason while my papa was tired from a recent trip across the seas,” he clarified. “She was rehired because she shouldn’t have lost her job in the first place. Now, if someone loses their job for a genuinely good reason, even if they aren’t entirely at fault, do you see how my papa going over Goldenhoard’s head to rehire him might look?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, like Gorgug didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> it,” he reasoned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t really matter. Anyone involved has to pay otherwise it looks as if my papa will let his employees get away with harassing management,” he told him, turning back around toward the sink. “Especially if Goldenhoard sues.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, you’re right,” he said with a sigh. “He’s well within his rights to press charges for this. At least Gorgug isn’t headed to jail.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See!” Fabian explained, holding out a dripping spatula. “It could certainly be worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we’re going to get Gorgug his job back, we really are going to have to do it Fig’s way,” he sighed, scratching his chin. “I hope she comes up with a plan soon. I think Gorgug is going to crash at Danielle and Ostentatia’s apartment for a few days but, once he’s gone, it’s all over. Actually, if he asks, tell him you’re working on your parents with all of this. We can’t afford to have him leave any sooner than he already is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed very dramatically. “Very well, I’ll act as if I’m trying to get him rehired if he asks. Honestly, this manipulative liar thing is very new for you, The Ball. It’s nice to see you breaking your strict moral code for once, but I’m not sure if this is the way to do it. Try sneaking into the pool after hours or something next time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that, well, that hit. It was horrible and manipulative to lie to Gorgug about Fig’s involvement and it was just as bad to tell Fabian to lie to him in order to keep him around. Riz had never been a big believer in little white lies and was always adamant that facts and honesty were the best way to go about life as a whole. How had he fallen so far do quickly?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a terrible person,” he said, eyes widening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian straight up laughed at that. “You? A terrible person? Please, The Ball, a little bit of lying doesn’t undo years of being a stuck-up rule follower.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should I go set the record straight with Gorgug right now?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, he doesn’t know that you know the truth so don’t bother,” he replied with a shrug. “Fig should tell him, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She has a plan to fix it,” he told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian’s face softened a touch. “I really hope she does. It’s nice to have Gorgug around. He’s the only one that helps anyone else out around here without asking. Well, Penny does sometimes, but mostly Gorgug. Also, it’s quite convenient that he has the van. I can only take one other person on the Hangman and it’s no use when it rains.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fig might have gotten him into this mess but I trust her to get him out of it,” he said. “After all, if there’s any of us that can come up with some wild plan to get him rehired, it’s her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gods, he hoped his own words were true.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Early the next afternoon, after Riz’s shift had ended, Fig called a meeting to save Gorgug. Because of conflicting schedules and varying levels of trust, only five of them showed up: Fig, Riz, Fabian, Adaine, and Kristen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The meeting was to be held in a “remote location” so they had to hike down the trails and go onto a dead-end path before veering into the woods a bit and emerging into a clearing that hikers probably wouldn’t happen upon. It was all kind of intense but Fig had said that there was a need for secrecy and Kristen suggested it, so he supposed he could deal. It was for Gorgug anyway, so what was a little bit of poison ivy related risk?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just want to put it on the record before we begin that I would prefer not to get fired in this plan to get Gorgug unfired,” Adaine told them. “Perhaps it’s a bit selfish to say but my sister and I genuinely need these jobs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of us plan for that to happen, Adaine,” Fabian replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, it’s not as if you can get fired,” Kristen muttered under her breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian merely rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody is getting fired,” Fig promised them. “This is the best plan in the history of plans.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t you say something like that about the prank that got him fired,” Riz pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, this is going to be different,” she assured him. “Because this prank is better in every single way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine raised an eyebrow. “So this plan to get Gorgug, who was fired for </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> prank, rehired is to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>another prank</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Forgive me for saying this, but that sounds both like a massive risk to our jobs here and, frankly, stupid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t just a prank. This is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> prank,” she clarified. “Priority one is getting Gorgug back which is </span>
  <em>
    <span>gonna happen</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And then we’re going to make sure that Goldenhoard never fucks with him again by scaring him so bad that he would never even consider it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This already sounds like a horrible idea!” Adaine exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I want to hear it,” Kristen replied. “Even if it doesn’t work, it sounds like it’ll be funny which is honestly a win even if I do get fired for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That very much does not sound like a win,” Riz said as Adaine nodded furiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t gonna get caught. Don’t worry,” Fig told them. “I haven’t gotten caught before, have I? Even this time, it wasn’t blamed on me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which is why this has become a problem, to begin with,” Fabian pointed out. “I would love to make Goldenhoard squirm, but don’t act as if your prank work is perfect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It isn’t-” she replied before holding up a triumphant finger, “-until today!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz pinched the bridge of his nose but didn’t say anything. There was no point in forcing Fig to further defend a prank she hadn’t even explained, even if he thought that solving this problem with another prank was an absolutely horrible idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to hack the hotel,” she told them finally. “Pretend to be a group of hacktivists protesting the disruption of the local environment or some shit and force Goldenhoard to give Gorgug his job back by claiming responsibility for the prank and stating that we’ll stop our attacks on him if he rehires the one that was fired for our work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This plan is awesome!” Kristen said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine shook her head. “It is not awesome. This is a terrible idea. Firstly, how are we going to masquerade as hacktivists when, as far as I’m aware, none of us have any computer programming abilities or knowledge about your proposed cause? Also, do you really expect Goldenhoard to believe it was hacktivists that made the cabinet blow up in his face and put sriracha in his coffee?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s going to be terrified, Adaine, he’ll believe anything,” Fig replied. “As for programming abilities, I think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a contact that can help us, don’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine furrowed her eyebrows before groaning in realization and slapping her hand to her forehead. “No. Absolutely not. He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>creepy!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I miss something?” Riz asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that I might be out of the loop as well,” Fabian said with an eyebrow raised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The IT guy won’t stop flirting with me,” she explained. “I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested but </span>
  <em>
    <span>you know</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kristen and Fig shared a look of understanding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Riz replied. “It sounds like he’s harassing you. Why didn’t you tell me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s honestly nothing that I can’t handle on my own,” she assured him. “I’m more than capable of caring for myself and I’ve certainly made him aware of that. And I didn’t tell you because you were so busy with that case for my sister and it wasn’t really a big deal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It sounds like-” he started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Fig said, cutting him off. “Don’t worry, Adaine. I won’t make you be the one to deal with Biz and, if you have to talk to him, it certainly won’t be alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded and took a deep breath. “It’s for Gorgug. He would do the same for any one of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about our cause?” Kristen asked. “I mean, I can ask Tracker if she knows anything but I’m not, like, positive that she would.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I checked out a book recently about local creatures,” Riz replied before turning to Fig. “I can look into it and then you can come with me to the library to talk with Ayda and see if she has anything about other activist groups in Bayside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why can’t I come talk to Ayda?” Adaine asked, crossing her arms over her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can,” he replied. “I just think that Fig should come with so that she can properly construct our lie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig groaned. “I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go to the library. I trust any lie that you give me, Riz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You trust The Ball to build your lies?” Fabian asked. “The Ball, who follows literally every rule at any given time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair point,” Fig said with a nod. “I’ll go to the library, fine. But you two are going to do the brunt of the bookwork.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” he said with a sigh.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Riz spent most of that evening sifting through </span>
  <em>
    <span>Creatures of the Bay</span>
  </em>
  <span>, which, while not as long as that history tome he’d read earlier, was still a pretty sizeable tome. Really, it was good that he had reason to read it now because the books were due in less than a week and he’d scarcely touched them since he checked them out. Maybe he’d renew the book about local farming since he hadn’t gotten a chance to look through it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t find much in terms of endangered species to fight for. There was information about fish. In fact, most of the book was about fish and, sure, a few of the species were facing dwindling numbers but that was pretty much exclusively due to illegal fishing which was certainly not a resort problem seeing as they didn’t allow fishing at all nor did they house any sizeable boats besides Bill’s personal vessels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a small section about the local residents of the town and what humanoids typically resided there but, unless they wanted to shift their focus onto racial politics, nothing in there was going to do them any good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Going to Ayda was truly their only real hope and, just after dinner, he dragged Fig and Adaine out the door so that they could get there before it closed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why couldn’t we just do this tomorrow?” Fig complained as they climbed off the bus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You work the late shift and Riz works the morning,” Adaine reminded her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But band practice!” she argued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re already here,” he replied. “You’re going to survive one night without band practice. I don’t think that Gorgug is really in the mood for it anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the mention of Gorgug, her usual cheerfully sarcastic facade dropped, just for a moment. “Right. The library.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pushed open the doors and they made their way inside. Rawlins was sitting at the desk, thumbing through what appeared to be a fashion magazine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine nodded for the shelves. “I’m going to go look around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She set off and Riz and Fig continued toward the desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good evening, Rawlins,” he greeted the man as he put two of his books into the return slot. “Is Ayda around?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The loud rush of wings was audible from the other side of the library and, in a matter of moments, Ayda landed on the ground in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Riz. Have you brought Adaine?” she asked. “I thought she was going to come by after lunch but she didn’t visit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Fig froze beside him, probably because she was startled to see a girl literally fly over and land in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s somewhere in the stacks browsing,” he replied. “We had a bit of an emergency meeting this afternoon so she wasn’t able to come by.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well,” Ayda said with a nod. “It’s not because of me. That’s good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would it be because of you?” Fig asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some find me intolerable due to the way I act,” she replied. “But Adaine is my friend and she wouldn’t think of me that way. Probably.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve only just met you but I think you’re pretty cool,” Fig told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am quite literally aflame,” she said. “My hair is partially made of fire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig smiled. “I meant cool as in you seem fun to be around. And being made of fire is also cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As in, it's fun?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda relaxed her posture a bit. “Delightful. Welcome to the Compass Points Library. I am Ayda and this is my assistant, Rawlins.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Fig,” she said with a smile. “It’s super nice to meet you, Ayda.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Indeed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway we’re here because we need your help,” Riz told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I can offer it, I will assist to the best of my ability,” she replied. “For my friends, I would do a great many things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gorgug was fired and Fig here has a plan to get his job back,” he explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gorgug? The greatest wizard of our age?” she asked. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I pulled a prank on our boss and he thought it was Gorgug,” Fig told her, in a surprising act of honestly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you didn’t go up to your boss and explain that you should be fired instead of Gorgug?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s more complicated than that,” she tried. “Gorgug is a great friend and-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It does not sound more complicated than that,” Ayda replied. “And I struggle to understand how Gorgug could be a great friend when you’ve done this thing that is not very friendly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig’s face fell for a moment but she regained her composure. “We’re going to get him back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what do you need from me?” she asked, looking between them expectantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are there any endangered species in Bayside?” Riz asked her. “Or creatures otherwise put at risk by tourism here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked down to the return box and then back up at him. “Did you not sure return </span>
  <em>
    <span>Creatures of the Bay</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she asked. “It’s our best book on local wildlife.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I couldn’t find much there,” he told her. “You’ve lived here a long time and I was wondering if there was anything that you knew personally that could help us solve our conundrum.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda perched on the desk and scratched at her chin in thought and then reached into her pocket and pulled out a notebook, slowly thumbing through it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I believe I have something here,” she told them. “Are you familiar with dragon turtles.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Fig replied. “But I have a guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz’s eyes widened. “They’re these giant legendary dragon-descended turtles that destroy ships and such. Nobody has seen them in years.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great,” Ayda replied. “Now, are you familiar with pseudodragons.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A blind girl at my school has one as a seeing-eye familiar,” Fig replied. “He’s pretty cute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A pseudodragon turtle is a mixture of two and local only to Bayside, though they are quite rare to spot,” she explained. “I studied them in detail two lives ago but, as the years drew on and our town grew, they became less and less prevalent. There is a possibility that the hotel has caused them to retreat back further into the wild and taken away some of the places where they lay their eggs. My previous incarnation notes that she used to conduct a lot of her research on the creatures at what is now Seacaster Beach.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig turned to Riz with wide eyes. “I think we need to fight for these things for real.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gorgug first,” he reminded her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not understand,” Ayda said. “What do pseudodragon turtles have to do with Gorgug and his job at the front desk of Seacaster Resort.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so I have this long convoluted plan, but I’m going to explain all of it to you,” Fig started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda smiled, ever so slightly. “I would quite like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leaving them to their conversation, Riz slunk away to browse the stacks for more information about pseudodragon turtles. At least one part of the plan seemed to be falling into place.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Biz Glitterdew was about their age, maybe a few years older than Riz given his job,  and the head IT guy for the resort, but he lived in his mom’s place on the other side of Bayside rather than with the rest of them at the staff house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>According to pretty much every woman who had worked with him at the resort, he was the type of person who was convinced women weren’t into him because he was a nice guy when really he was just a raging misogynist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz was pretty offended when the others suggested he be the one to approach him because they’d get along best. Sure, Riz could be awkward around people sometimes and he was a bit of a nerd kid but he wasn’t like </span>
  <em>
    <span>Biz</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he sucked it up and popped into Biz’s small office, located in the basement of the resort, the following morning. He didn’t have a shift that day, so there really wasn’t any getting out of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I help you?” asked a snotty voice as Riz walked into the open doorway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biz was small, even by Riz’s standards, and had a head of remarkably well-kept red hair, for the mess that the rest of him was. There was some odor coming from the room, but he couldn’t be sure if it was Biz himself or just the space that he was in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, actually,” Riz said, letting himself fully into the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, if you’re having a computer issue in your room, it’s really better to call the number,” he told him. “I can’t walk you through fixing it or fix it myself  you don’t have the device with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I work here actually,” he explained. “I’m Riz, a waiter up in the Harpy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biz whipped around with wide eyes. “You’re Adaine Abernant’s friend, aren’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gods, he hated hearing her name in his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did she send you here?” he asked. “Like, Miss Abernant wanted you to come chat with me for her because she was shy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, not exactly,” Riz said, trying his best to mask his discomfort. If he felt this uncomfortable with this shit, he couldn’t imagine how Adaine felt. Then again, she wasn’t really one to put up with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, regardless, I’m very pleased to meet you,” Biz said. “I’m Biz Glitterdew and I work IT here, as you can see. I have two associates but neither of them are available at the moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really great to meet you,” Riz lied. “This is all super cool. IT is super cool and for you to be doing it so young, just wow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am quite talented but I could give you pointers if you’d like,” he offered. “It would be nice to have a fourth person on the team because, between you and me, Shellford isn’t exactly the most efficient guy in the world and he always comes to work with a negative attitude. And Skrank? Well, he’s just all drama. You seem like a guy that actually values professionalism in an important career like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am,” he replied. “I value professionalism at all times, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? We’d get along pretty well if you worked down here,” Biz told him. “Maybe if I train you between your shifts this summer, you can work with us next year instead of being a </span>
  <em>
    <span>waiter</span>
  </em>
  <span> up in The Harpy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” he said. “That’s actually not what I came down here for, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, my friend, how can I help you on this fine day?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How would you like to be enlisted as the hacker for a mission?” he asked him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biz raised an eyebrow. “A hacker?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our friend, Gorgug, got fired for something that wasn’t his doing,” he explained. “And Fig came up with a plan to-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fig?” Biz asked, making a face. “Pass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” he asked. “What’s wrong with Fig?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s been nothing but rude to me all summer,” he replied. “And it’s obvious that she’s not exactly a classy girl.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz bit back a reply. “Okay, but this isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>for</span>
  </em>
  <span> Fig. It’s just her plan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I help one of those tall jock types that steals all the women even though they have nothing to offer?” he asked. “Gorgug isn’t exactly a smart guy like we are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, clearly you don’t actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> Gorgug-” he started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need to,” Biz replied. “I’ve seen his type around here for years, what with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fabian</span>
  </em>
  <span> constantly hanging around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fabian is great, actually, once you give him a chance,” he defended, surprising himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biz didn’t look all too convinced. “I thought you were cool, man. But if you’re hanging around </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>, then I’m not so sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m cool,” he promised him. “I’m a professional, remember? I have to be on good terms with my coworkers and housemates.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He narrowed his eyes for a moment. “And what would </span>
  <em>
    <span>Figueroth</span>
  </em>
  <span> even have me do in this mission? Hack someone and put the sanctity of my work on the line for a rude stranger like her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to hack the hotel,” he explained. “Which is why your expertise would be perfect: Shellford and Skrank don’t know the ins and outs of the hotel network like you do, even if they are IT employees. We need to convince Goldenhoard that the recent pranks around the hotel were orchestrated by an activist group devoted to preserving the natural habitat of pseudodragon turtles and tell him that if he rehires the person that was fired in the crossfire of the campaign, they’ll back off. Hurting innocents was the opposite of the goal. We’re thinking of flickering the power and taking control of the loudspeakers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This plan is completely ridiculous,” Biz said, pushing his glasses up a bit on his nose. “Your best bet would be to hack into the computer system itself and send him a message while he’s working at the front desk. Of course, that would require some expert programming knowledge and a solid understanding of the hotel’s network as a whole, which I really don’t think that you’ll be able to find without me. Don’t worry, though. I won’t tell Goldenhoard about Figueroth’s idiotic plan if only to preserve you and Adaine. You really should distance yourself from those friends of yours that seemingly keep getting into trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, he wasn’t interested but, at the same time, there was no way they were going to pull this off without him and well, even though he </span>
  <em>
    <span>said</span>
  </em>
  <span> that he wouldn’t rat them out to Goldenhoard, Riz had his doubts that was the truth. But he’d tried his best to bond with the guy and convince him to join their cause and he didn’t exactly have the money for bribery. What else could he even do?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz felt like throwing up when his mind presented him with the only remaining way that he could possibly convince Biz to work with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that Adaine would be really appreciative if an intelligent, hard-working guy like you helped one of her friends get his job back,” he told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gods, Adaine was going to punch him. And he was going to deserve it. He really was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Biz asked. “She hasn’t paid me much mind before. You think this little project would change her mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely,” he lied. “I mean, if we could pull this off, she’s going to know just how smart you really are. Not to mention how helping out her friend will show her how much you really care.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile spread across Biz’s face. “Well, I suppose I could lend my talents to your group for such a noble cause. I’ve already got some great ideas floating around in my mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great. Thank you so much,” Riz said, forcing a smile and sliding into one of the two empty rolling chairs in the room. “Now, let me tell you a little bit about the cause that we want to champion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He got to explaining and, with a new cause on Biz’s mind, he was surprisingly both helpful and agreeable. They came up with a plan to truly spook Goldenhoard into rehiring Gorgug and to do it in a way that would spook him so much that he would be unlikely to tell Aguefort or Bill Seacaster himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe, just maybe, they could actually pull this off.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The plan involved recording audio of the actual explanation and threat, which was something that Riz had been tasked with recording. Fig offered her services up immediately, as she was a pretty phenomenal actress, even when she wasn’t in a disguise, but Biz told him that this project required a “strong male voice” to work, even though he was going to be playing with the audio so the voice was indistinguishable and more threatening. But Riz really didn’t want to piss Biz off again and jeopardize their only chance at getting Gorgug his job back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, after being chewed out by Adaine for 20 minutes about his methods of getting Biz to work with him, which was honestly valid, he retreated up to his room with Fabian to record him reading the script since he was the most charismatic guy in their group.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After reading the script, Fabian looked to Riz with raised eyebrows. “That’s our final plan to get Gorgug his job back? Saving the turtles?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ayda seems to think that their environment is legitimately being affected by the location of the resort. She studied them here in a previous life and now they’re barely around,” he explained. “So, if we threaten legal action, then Goldenhoard will have to submit to our demands.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what if Goldenrod brings this to my father?” Fabian asked. “This information could actually take down the resort and everything that my father has built here in Solace. Why would I risk my own livelihood?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because he won’t share this information with anyone. His job is at stake, Fabian,” he reminded him. “It says specifically that we’ll back off if he gives Gorgug his job back and refuses to speak of the incident to anyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goldenrod hates working here,” he pointed out. “Why wouldn’t he just let the resort get taken out and start working at another one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because he’ll be implicated with the scandal,” Riz explained. “He’s worked here for a long time. It isn’t unreasonable to assume that he knew about the pseudodragon turtles and refused to say anything about them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re certain that this will work?” Fabian asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the best chance we have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz heard the pounding of heavy feet up the stairs and held up a finger to silence Fabian before he could continue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He quietly got up and raced to the door and opened it slowly, only to see Gorgug, who had moved out a while ago, standing outside his former room, repeatedly going from about to knock on his door to putting his fist down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gorgug,” he said, making the other boy jump. “Are you alright, man?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-” he whipped around with wide eyes. “I’m fine. I just stopped by to check and see if I forgot anything. Is, uh, is Ragh around?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “He doesn’t get off for another hour.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Gorgug said with a nod. “I just wanted to say goodbye, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz bit the inside of his cheek. “I mean, he should be by soon if you want to wait around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know. I’m technically not even supposed to be here, you know? Like if Goldenhoard catches me he could call the police on me or give you guys strikes and I really don’t want to be responsible for that. I guess I should have just texted him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hang around,” he insisted. “Goldenhoard has never once visited the staff house and I don’t see why he would start now. Besides, I really think that Ragh would want to say goodbye in person.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug smiled slightly and nodded. “I’ll stay around until he gets home, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kristen popped up at the bottom of the stairwell. “Gorgug?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Kristen,” he said with a bigger smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran up the stairs and grabbed his hand, tugging him down them. “Thank the gods that you’re here. Sam and Aelwyn made dinner and it’s actually surprisingly good. You have </span>
  <em>
    <span>got</span>
  </em>
  <span> to have some.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kristen winked up to Riz on her way down, obviously giving him space to safely record their threatening message to Goldenhoard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He returned to the room and closed the door behind him. “Are Gorgug and Ragh sleeping together?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clearly not,” Fabian said with a scoff. “If we can hear Tracker and Kristen below us and on the other side of the house, we would be able to hear two half-orc barbarians next door.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” he said, looking back toward the doorway. “Do you think they might in the future? I was getting that kind of energy of Gorgug.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged. “I mean, Ragh has been very devoted to his surf lessons, but I don’t really pay that much attention to that. They can do whatever they’d like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he agreed. “I was just curious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we taking a break so that Gorgug doesn’t overhear us?” he asked, already getting up. “Because I’d be happy to go downstairs and eat dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz held up a hand and stopped him. “No. Kristen is distracting him so that we can get this recording done and sent to Biz to prep for tomorrow. Gorgug is leaving tomorrow afternoon, which means we need everything ready by the time Goldenhoard checks the computers before shift tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian groaned. “But I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>hungry</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am too,” he replied. “But we have to get this done. For Gorgug.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gorgug can wait until after dinner,” he tried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do it for me then,” Riz said. “Because I don’t want to sit up all night recording you. I’m hungry too, but I’m willing to record a minute of audio first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed. “Fine. You’re surprisingly persuasive, The Ball. Let’s record this and then we can go down and eat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz smiled. “Thank you. Now, from the top.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>There were five of them crammed into the tiny IT room and Riz, who was often more comfortable in tight spaces, was extremely nervous. They were glancing between two screens: the lobby video feed of Goldenhoard, who was doing his morning opening duties as he sent the guy that was currently working the desk home for the night, and Biz’s main monitor, which showed a mirrored version of Goldenhoard’s screen that he could take control of at any moment, courtesy of some late-night set up orchestrated by Fig luring away the night front desk guy by convincing him she was there to cover for his midnight lunch break.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the front desk man had left the building, Fig muttered into her crystal. “Now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lights in the lobby flickered for a moment as Fabian flipped a switch on the circuit breaker down the hall a few times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Goldenhoard looked around, clearly panicked and rushed toward the key cabinet, probably to get the key that would let him into the basement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They couldn’t take that chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biz typed something on his computer and took control, starting up the program he’d spent the night making with a bright flash that grabbed Goldenhoard’s attention before turning into a black screen that displayed the text that Fabian’s distorted voice was reading off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Assistant manager Goldenhoard, this is a message for you,” he said. “You don’t know us but we know you. We’ve been watching and waiting. Pulling small scale pranks to garner the attention of the higher-ups of this resort until it was our time to strike. The land this hotel was built on was once home to a rare species: the pseudodragon turtle. We come to you today and every day with the same mission: to push Seacaster Resort to provide a home to the creatures that it has misplaced. As people who devote their lives to helping innocent creatures, we would be fools to neglect any innocent people that could be harmed by our campaign. It is because of this that we offer you a deal: if you give Gorgug Thistlespring his job back and rid his record of past strikes, we will spare you from future attacks. You have 24 hours. If you fail to rehire Gorgug Thistlespring or if you share this information with anyone else, we will disclose everything we know to the Solisian Department of Wildlife, destroying the hotel and your career along with it. Think wisely about how you move from here. This has been a message from The Bad Kids.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The screen flickered black for a moment before everything in the lobby appeared to return to its normal state, save for Goldenhoard, who looked positively rattled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you see that?” Biz asked as he swiveled his chair around to face Adaine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She made a face before turning to Fig. “I think your plan might have actually worked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously,” Fig replied with her head held high. “This was the prank to end all pranks. Would I settle for anything less than success?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean-” Kristen started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just be happy with how it ended,” Riz said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And hopeful. He hasn’t rehired Gorgug yet,” Fabian pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you think that it’s a bit odd that you said that we should be hopeful and yet that comment was less than hopeful,” Adaine said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I should call Ayda,” Fig announced. “I have to tell her that our plan worked out and thank her for the pseudodragon turtle info.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She left the room without waiting for anyone else to respond.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kristen glanced at the watch on her wrist and sighed. “I have to go too. Tracker and I are leading an early hike this morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine looked disdainfully at Biz for a moment and turned to Kristen. “I’ll come with. I’ve been meaning to start hiking while we’re in such a beautiful natural area.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have?” Fabian asked in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She has,” Riz lied. “We’ve been talking about it since before we left. She just hasn’t had a ton of time to do it yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian nodded in realization. “Ah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the girls left, Biz turned to the too of them. “So it’s just the guys now! Do you two play any crystal games? I still have two hours until my shift officially starts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope,” Fabian said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gotta go,” Riz said at the same time. “Need to pick up some- uh, cat food.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cat food?” Biz asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Fabian replied. “There’s a stray cat that hangs around the staff house and it looks quite malnourished. We need to feed it so that it calms down and we can find its home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biz frowned. “I’m allergic to cats.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a real shame,” Riz said. “But as I said, we have to go. So, bye!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cat food?” Fabian mumbled after they were out of earshot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I panicked,” he protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clearly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s hard,” Riz defended. “Nice save though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” he replied, puffing up his chest. “I just have a way with words, I suppose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t,” he said with a sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged. “Don’t be hard on yourself, The Ball. You’re good at plenty of things. None of this would have worked out without you, not to mention Sam and Aelwyn, or me fitting in so well with the group.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was the one keeping you from fitting in,” he reminded him. “Everyone else was always willing to give you a chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “They were willing to give me a chance because I was the son of their boss. You ended up giving me a chance because I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m happy that I did,” he said sincerely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A soft smile spread across Fabian’s face. “I’m happy that you did too.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>When Riz got back from his shift, exhausted from having been up so early preparing for their mission, he flopped straight onto his bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t had his eyes closed for ten seconds before his door burst open, a very excited looking half-orc running inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Riz! Guess what?!” he said excitedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rubbed at his eyes and sat up straight. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goldenhoard just called. He’s giving me my job back!” Gorgug exclaimed. “Not only that, but he’s getting rid of my other strikes. A clean slate! Ragh said that he’s never done that before!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s amazing!” he replied with a smile, feigning ignorance. “What changed his mind?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He said that I’m a really hard worker and that it’s been hard to manage the desk without me around,” Gorgug told him. “I’m really excited to have an opportunity to start over. I’m not going to mess up this time. I have zero strikes and I fully intend to keep it that way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t mess up the first time,” he reminded him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waved him off. “No need to get into the details of it. None of it really matters because I have my job again and I get to stay here and live with you guys! I can still have the best summer ever!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s going to be great,” he agreed. “Have you talked to Ragh, by any chance? Beyond just telling him you got your job back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>People with green skin pigmentation didn’t really get red, but Gorgug’s cheeks ever-so-subtly turned a darker shade of green. “I, uh. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz snorted. He wasn’t going to get involved with his friends’ love lives unless they specifically asked for his help. “Never mind. We should celebrate! Maybe we can order out instead of cooking dinner tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure!” he replied, before pausing for a moment in thought. “Wait, isn’t it <em>your</em> night to cook?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All the more reason to order out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug laughed and it was nice to see him so carefree. “I mean, you’re better at it than Fig. But eating out would be nice tonight anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you work it out with the others and update me later,” he suggested. “I’ll be down eventually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fig said she wanted to chat with me anyway,” he said with a nod before walking out of the room and gently closing the door behind him</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz sank back into his bed and closed his eyes, exhausted after another day of helping out his friends. Not that he would trade any of this for the world.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. surf bum in training</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yes this chapter is like 1k shorter than the others yes it's a week late please respect my privacy at this time &lt;3<br/>really it's because i started my job a few weeks back and i started classes this week and last week i spent a good chunk of time on that oneshot i posted. the length thing is just bc this chapter didn't work out to be as long!!!<br/>i don't know if I'll be able to post on a weekly basis as seen by this chapter being a week late but i can say with honestly that I've been working on this at least a little bit almost every day and i still wholeheartedly enjoy writing this fic! i just also have a few other projects going at the same time along w my personal life<br/><a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">my tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Riz had been spending more time on the beach with all his friends and less time wrapped up in his cases as the summer went on. The longer he was away from Elmville, the less possible it was to solve him so there was really no harm in spending the little free time he had from work being social. Besides, this was his summer. He deserved to sit back and have some fun, even if it wasn’t really something that he was used to doing anymore. Not since he was very little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So now he spent his evenings on the beach with everyone else, even Adaine when she wasn’t at the library. They swam and they played touch bloodrush in the sand and they sat around the bonfire, singing songs and making smores.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was peaceful and, honestly, pretty great. That is, until one night near the middle of the summer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Riz, The Ball, dude!” Ragh called from the other side of the beach. “Come surf with us!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “Don’t know how!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then I’ll teach you!” Ragh shouted back. “It’s fucking Bayside, bro. You have to give it a shot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do I? Because I don’t think I do. Have fun, though!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He returned to the book that he was trying to read by the light of the fire and the setting sun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A dark-skinned hand snatched it out of his hands and closed it before he could even fold back the corner of the page.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell?” he said to Fabian, folding his arms over his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to get permanent eye damage from reading in the dark,” Fabian told him. “It’s for your own good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That ship has sailed. I already wear contacts,” he pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do?” he asked, seemingly surprised. “I’ve never seen you in glasses.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t typically wear my glasses,” he replied with a shrug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” Fabian said, seemingly lost in thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I have my book back now?” he asked after a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian shook himself from his thoughts and put his hands on his hips. “No, you cannot. I find it utterly ridiculous that you have not once attempted to surf after being in Bayside for over a month and I think that it’s time that we rectify that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m good,” he replied, reaching out to snatch the book from Fabian’s hands. Unfortunately, Fabian saw his movement and tucked it behind his back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you move for it again, I’m throwing it in the fire,” he threatened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>library book</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged. “Ayda will understand the sacrifice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She absolutely will not understand the sacrifice. She’ll team up with Adaine to kill you in your sleep as a punishment for crimes against books!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He snorted. “You’re being quite dramatic, The Ball. She’ll be mad and I’ll probably have to pay for it. After that, it’ll simply be water under the bridge.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are you banning me from reading?” he asked. “Just because I won’t surf? Fabian, there isn’t exactly much surfing in Elmville.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You literally live in the same house as two certified surf instructors,” he reminded him. “And I can always teach you as well. I’m not as patient as Sam or Ragh, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you care so much about me surfing anyway?” he asked. “I don’t understand how any of this affects you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you’ll have fun. And don’t forget our discussion about being uptight,” he replied. “Besides, surfing is cool. Don’t you want to look cool?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He chewed on his lip for a moment. Did Fabian think that he was a loser, just like almost everyone back in Elmville? He didn’t usually care about popularity but the thought of someone as awesome as Fabian thinking he was cool was enticing. Still, he wasn’t going to suffer through this alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Adaine?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian raised an eyebrow. “What about her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I have to learn how to surf, then she should too,” he reasoned. “You know that she refuses to get on a board.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes but, as persuasive as I can be, I don’t see a foreseeable way of me convincing her to try surfing,” he replied. “You can certainly try, though. Surfing is part of the Bayside experience and I suppose that she should have it as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I have my book back now?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll give surfing a shot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz sighed. “I’ll do one lesson if you give my book back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Excellent,” Fabian said with a smile. “I believe that Ragh has tomorrow afternoon off. You can get started then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tossed the book back to Riz and walked away before he could even open his mouth to protest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz was going to learn to surf, he supposed, and he didn’t even really know why. Because his roommate thought surfing was cool? Was he really that desperate for a friend?</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>There was absolutely no way Riz was going to do this alone, so he popped by Adaine’s room early the following morning, leading her down to the kitchen once he realized that Aelwyn and Fig were both still sound asleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m in a dilemma,” he told her as he poured out two bowls of cereal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She raised an eyebrow. “You are?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded. “I stupidly told Fabian that I would learn to surf and he said that Ragh would start giving me lessons this afternoon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine smiled, seemingly amused by the horrible situation that he had found himself in. “And why would you do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’m desperate for more friends,” he said with a hearty sigh. “Fabian said it would make me look cool and suddenly I </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to try to surf. Sometimes my own brain just seems to betray me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She snorted. “I see. That makes perfect sense.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you can see why I need your help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want me to do? Get you out of it?” she asked. “If you don’t want to do it, just tell Fabian. I think it’s a good idea, though. Sometimes trying something new can be really good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perfect. Then you’ll learn too,” he said, clapping his hands together in the excitement of not doing this alone. “I pretty much already told Fabian that you would and I’m sure that he’s already shared that information with Ragh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes widened and she dropped her spoon into her bowl, splashing a bit of milk onto the table. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you really think I was going to go through the humiliation of learning to surf alone?” he asked. “If we </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> do it, neither of us are going to look as bad when we wipe out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Then we’ll both look terrible. And, more importantly, we’ll both </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> terrible,” she pointed out. “I have absolutely no desire to surf and nobody to impress. You’re on your own for this. I won’t let you dig me a grave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So trying something new can’t be really good,” he said in a faux sweet voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine narrowed her eyes. “You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> allowed to use my own words against me, Riz Gukgak.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re my best friend,” he reasoned. “You can’t abandon me in my moment of need. I followed you to this resort, didn’t I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pinched her nose and let out a deep sigh. “One lesson and then we can go from there, alright? And know that the answer is most likely going to be no to a second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t planning on going beyond a singular lesson anyway,” he said with a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gods,” Adaine said, leaning back in her chair. “I have a feeling that both of us are going to regret this.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Ragh was waiting for them at the beach on the fateful day of their first lesson. Riz and Adaine were late, which wasn’t exactly an accident. Riz had taken some extra time when applying sunscreen and had nearly emptied an entire bottle by the time he was done stalling. Upon nearly slipping on his way down the stairs, Adaine informed him that he had screwed himself over because he wasn’t going to be able to stay on the board if he was so slippery, at which time he attempted to wash some of it off in the bathroom, which was not a very successful endeavor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So now he was walking toward his own death. Only a freak surprise thunderstorm could save him now and he didn’t have the ability to make that happen. Maybe he should have hired Danielle to orchestrate one for him. She didn’t seem like she’d be the type of person to rat him out. Then again, Riz wasn’t exactly a fan of lying to people anyway, nor was he particularly amazing at it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dudes!” Ragh called as they approached. “Are you ready to get your surf on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Riz muttered uneasily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not particularly,” Adaine replied at the same time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh frowned. “Why not? Are you not feeling good or something? Or like did you eat before this? It’s not super good to eat before you surf?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As a matter of fact we just had a three-course meal,” Riz lied, going against his own principles for one last shot at escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Dude, why would you do that before surf lessons?” he asked. “Though, I guess you wouldn’t know not to eat if you’ve never surfed before.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s lying,” said a voice from behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to find Fabian standing there in his swim trunks, designer sunglasses on his nose and towel thrown over his shoulder. While Riz had seen him shirtless before, this was the first time he fully registered just how muscular Fabian was, in a lean sort of way. It suited him, he thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re just nervous,” Adaine explained to Ragh, shaking Riz from the strange path of thought he had begun to go down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nervous?” Ragh asked. “Bros, you don’t have to be nervous. Surfing is fucking awesome!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But to two people who haven’t ever done it, it can be a bit intimidating,” she told him. “There are certain risks associated with surfing, like falling, or wildlife, or getting hurt in general. I think falling is probably the main concern, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’re going to fall,” he told them. “Everyone does.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz spared a glance at Fabian for a moment and chewed on the inside of his cheek. He didn’t want to fall in front of his cool new friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just embarrassing,” he muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it isn’t,” Ragh replied. “Dude, I wipe out like </span>
  <em>
    <span>all the time</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Sam even wipes out sometimes and she’s like one with the water and shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine nodded. “I suppose that’s fair. Fabian does spend more time in the water than on the board.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He crossed his arms over his chest. “When did this become about me? I’m only here to watch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’re- Huh. What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seconded,” Riz said, nodding toward her. “Here to watch sounds mega creepy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I had to make sure you weren’t lying about doing this,” he explained, seeming a bit flustered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz wasn’t sure that he believed him but he couldn’t think of a better reason for Fabian to be here. Unless he just wanted to watch Riz fail. Shit, was that why he was here?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should really get to work,” Ragh said, clapping his hands together. “I’ve already grabbed some boards for you two and set them up down the beach.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it’s supposed to thunderstorm,” Riz tried, speaking way too quickly to be convincing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The sky is completely blue, The Ball,” Fabian replied. “I don’t see a single cloud. You need to think of better lies if you’re going to continue to be ridiculous about this. Honestly, it’s not that hard.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not exactly the best athletes in Spyre,” Adaine attempted to explain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re not the worst either,” he replied. “The Ball here is tiny and fast. If anyone can stay on a board, it’s him. Also, Adaine, having seen Kristen surf, you honestly don’t have to worry about embarrassing yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh nodded solemnly. “I don’t think she’s ever stood up on the board without falling off. But like she always gets up and tries again, so that’s pretty dope.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine looked to Riz. “We can do this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just one lesson, right?” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you can’t learn everything about how to surf in one afternoon,” Ragh said. “But we can get the basics down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He led them over to where three surfboards were laying on the sand. One of them was significantly smaller than the others, presumably goblin sized.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay guys, the first step of surfing is learning to paddle so we’re gonna practice, here on the sand,” he told them. “Pay attention because if you don’t do it the right way, you’ll tire yourself out and this shit could get hard for you. Watch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh flopped down on his surfboard in the sand and started making a paddling motion, hands hovering a few inches above the sand. “Now you try.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz felt Fabian’s eyes on his back like a pair of lasers and, despite wanting nothing to do with any of this, started paddling. He just hoped that he wasn’t filming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very good,” Ragh said with a nod, sitting up. “Now, you two keep doing that and I’m gonna explain some of the surfing basics like stance and stuff. Make sure to keep your ears open because this is all really important.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gods, Riz felt like a fucking child doing all this, and the fact that Fabian was hanging around just made it worse. He would get through this, though. He had to.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Their lesson that day actually didn’t go all that terribly. Was it mildly humiliating to be given the very lessons that eight-year-old visitors did? Absolutely. But also Riz was the kind of guy who did like to learn things, despite how much he despised not being good at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t do much beyond practicing on the sand and paddling in the water, but he did feel like he was making </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> progress. He didn’t by any means, learn to surf entirely during a one hour lesson, but he could probably learn enough to be able to do just a little bit after another session.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not that there would be another. Adaine had already rejected the offer, telling Ragh that she appreciated him setting aside the time to teach her but she just wasn’t interested in surfing. Riz, despite not hating the idea of it as much as he thought he did, didn’t want to be the only one wiping out constantly when they actually got to the surfing spot, especially not if Fabian was going to come to watch again, so he chose not to reach out to Ragh about surfing anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And it kind of god pushed aside for a few days. Fabian mentioned it off-hand once or twice but he didn’t push. Riz had promised him a session and he’d delivered on that, so he didn’t really have any reason to badger him on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was at a slow shift at the restaurant later that week that it actually came up again. Fabian and Fig weren’t around that morning, so the only people from summer staff that were around were him, Antiope, and Penny.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sam told me that Ragh gave you a surf lesson the other day,” Penny said, sliding into the booth that he and Antiope were taking their break at.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He did,” he replied with a nod. “We didn’t get to the actual surfing part, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Next time, probably,” Antiope said with a nod. “Sometimes Ragh can get people up in one lesson but other times he takes a bit more time with new learners. Sam is better at teaching it fast, but she’s been surfing since the moment she could stand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There won’t be a next time,” he told them. “It was a one and done sort of thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he like making you pay or something?” Antiope asked, clearly confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “Fabian told me that I have to give surfing a shot, that I had to do one lesson. That’s done, so I’m done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you didn’t like it?” guessed Penny.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he started, pausing to truly consider her question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did he like it? It wasn’t a terrible time and, since they hadn’t gotten to the actual surfing, there wasn’t really a way to tell. He liked learning how to do something new but that wasn’t the same as actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>liking </span>
  </em>
  <span>the thing. Nor was disliking screwing up in front of the people.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he answered. “I never actually got onto the water, so I have no idea whether I like surfing or not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then why don’t you give it another lesson?” Antiope asked. “Because if you give up now, you’ll never know if you actually like it or not but if you get on the water and you don’t like it, then you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but-’ Riz shrugged. “I guess it’s just like, the principle of it all?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” asked Penny.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean I already said no,” he tried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ragh would give you more lessons if you asked,” Antiope chimed in. “And he wouldn’t make it awkward.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Penny nodded in agreement. “I think he would be very endeared by it if you asked.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But what about Fabian?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Antiope raised an eyebrow. “Is he giving you lessons too now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “He just came by to watch last time, probably to heckle me if I wiped out or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Penny said thoughtfully. “Well, he doesn’t have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> that you’re doing another lesson.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” he asked. Fabian was his roommate and the person that had convinced him to try surfing in the first place, he couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> tell him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged. “Try it, see if you actually like it, and then tell him after if you do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow. “So you want me to </span>
  <em>
    <span>lie</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Fabian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Withhold information,” Antiope corrected. “Also, what does it matter anyway? You didn’t even like Fabian a few weeks ago.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve come to realize that he’s not such a bad guy,” Riz said with a shrug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think Fabian would be mad if you did another surfing lesson behind his back. He suggested that you try surfing and that you do it with Ragh,” Penny pointed out.” Whether you tell him or not, you’ll be doing what he wanted you to do, so he really doesn’t have a right to be mad. Besides, surf lessons are something that should be between you and your teacher. Your roommate doesn’t need to be involved.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re making it sound like a sex thing,” he said, wrinkling his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boundaries are important in all sorts of relationships, sexual or not,” Penny told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He chewed on his lip for a moment. “So you’re telling me that I should give surfing another shot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” she replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And that I shouldn’t tell Fabian that I’m doing it,” he continued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely not,” Antiope said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed and nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fantastic!” Penny exclaimed, squeezing his shoulder. “Now, let’s get ready for the lunch rush before Goldenhoard skins us alive for taking one second longer than our government-mandated breaks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He groaned and stood up, mind clear of surfing and now focused on another miserable day in foodservice.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Fabian was working dinner and closing at The Harpy the following evening so Riz arranged to have his secret second lesson with Ragh at that time. He hadn’t told anyone about it, not even Adaine, who would surely have </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say about all of this. Hells, he hadn’t even told </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ragh</span>
  </em>
  <span> about it, just left him an anonymous note to meet him in a more isolated part of the beach at 6:30 pm and not to tell anyone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Ragh arrived through the trees and saw Riz standing there, his eyes widened. “Riz? You’re not Gorgug.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope, I’m not,” he said with a shake of his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Ragh paused and scratched his head. “This is kind of awkward then. Look, Riz, you’re a really cool guy but this thing I’ve got going on with Gorgug is all so new and while we’ve talked a little bit about not wanting to be exclusive, I don’t want to push past that boundary before we have a more concrete conversation about it. And, like, no offense, dude, but I’m super surprised by all of this. I didn’t even know you were into me and, if I’m gonna be real with you, I’ve never thought of you that way. Really sorry, man.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz’s eyebrows shot up so high that he was convinced that they were no longer attached to his head. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, man,” he told him with an earnest expression. “I honestly thought it was Gorgug who left the note.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a moment to take a better look at Ragh for a moment. At first glance, he was just Ragh but, upon further inspection, he was wearing board shorts that were tighter than usual, his floral shirt was unbuttoned and flowing in the wind, revealing pretty much everything about his figure, and it seemed as if he’d gelled his hair back. Also, he smelled more like coconuts than just the actual beach. Perhaps the intent behind Riz’s note had been slightly misconstrued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ragh, did you think that I left you a </span>
  <em>
    <span>sex</span>
  </em>
  <span> note?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, duh,” he replied. “You asked me to meet you alone on a private beach and keep it a secret. I thought it was Gorgug trying to try something new and fun or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit. Yeah, I see how it could come off that way now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, it wasn’t a sex note?” Ragh asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope.” He shook his head. “Not a sex note. Absolutely not. I am not really interested in that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s chill, dude,” he said with a nod. “What did you call me out here for, then? Oh gods, are you gonna kill me? Was that note just to lure me to my death? I’m gonna warn you, man. When I rage, it is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> pretty.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He held out his hands in a calming motion. “I’m not here to kill you Ragh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, but I think that’s what someone who would kill me might say,” he replied, eyes narrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just wanted another surfing lesson!” he exclaimed. “Nothing serious. Just want to actually get on the water and see if I like it or not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh visibly relaxed. “Oh. You could have just told me that, bro. I was starting to think that this was like something serious or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was afraid that the information would get into the wrong hands if I were more forthright,” he explained. “I mean, I trust you well enough to know you wouldn’t share this intentionally but I simply couldn’t risk anyone else finding out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow. “About you surfing? I think I’m lost again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, about me surfing,” he told him. “I want to see if I like it before pursuing it further but, well, I didn’t want Fabian to come watch this time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, well I mean I could have made him leave before,” Ragh said. “I totally get being uncomfortable with people watching you. It happens. Some of the kids I’ve given lessons to can’t even learn in groups because of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He relaxed a little. “So, it’s normal to want some privacy for this stuff?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh nodded. “Learning new stuff can be hard, bro. Like, I have to get help with math and shit for school and it’s really hard for me to work with my mom around so I always meet my tutor at the library. Sometimes you just gotta set those boundaries, man. I wish you were like more direct about it because, not gonna lie, dude, I came here ready to fuck, but I understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you’ll keep teaching me?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he replied with a smile. “I gotta run back to the beach so I can get you a board and a leash, but I’ll be back in a few. And if I run into Fabian, I won’t tell him that we’re surfing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz smiled. “Thank you, Ragh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No problem, man. I’m here to teach!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Ragh walked away, Riz was able to relax completely. The thought of learning to surf seemed much less intimidating without the risk of Fabian continuously seeing him wipe out.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It was, admittedly, a very fun time. Ragh had been right about his dexterity proving advantageous on the waves. He was able to pop up with ease and, while he did wipeout, it wasn’t necessarily more frequently than anyone else. In fact, Ragh said that he was doing quite well for a beginner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was cool to stand on top of the water and feel the waves push him and feel himself push back a little, to stand out and watch the beach as he balanced himself and navigated through the water to the best of his ability. And he knew, the more that he did this, the better he would get.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine was not as surprised as he thought she would be when he informed her of this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, you like it,” she said with a shrug. “You’re dexterous enough to be really good at it and you literally have no hobbies. It makes sense that you like surfing because it’s something you’re good at </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> something that isn’t work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have hobbies!” he protested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Adaine asked, putting her hands on her hips. “What hobbies do you have? Actually, you know what, I’m going to set the bar even lower than that. Name one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pro-bono cases do not count as hobbies,” she interjected. “It’s the same as one of your jobs. You just choose to do it for free.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does being a waiter count as a hobby?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is quite literally your job,” she replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s my </span>
  <em>
    <span>second</span>
  </em>
  <span> job,” he attempted to reason.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “You get paid for it and it’s certainly not something that you enjoy doing. I’ll give you one last opportunity to try again. If, of course, you do have a hobby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Studying?” he tried, more of a last-ditch effort than anything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine’s pointed expression was more than enough to tell him that studying did not, in fact, count as a hobby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” he snapped. “Maybe I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a hobby. What about you, Adaine? Do you have a hobby?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I happen to be very interested in the interior designing of terrariums,” she replied. “I spend a lot of my free time making Boggy’s terrarium the best place it can be. Your mum was quite impressed with his tank when I dropped him off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t feel like that should count as a hobby,” he told her with narrowed eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s something I do in my free time to decompress from everything else,” she said with a shrug. “I get it if you don’t understand, seeing as you’ve only just discovered your first hobby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Surfing is not a hobby!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a quite popular hobby in this region,” she replied. “If it wasn’t, this resort probably wouldn’t even exist.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean it’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> hobby,” he corrected. “I’ve barely done it at all! I only tried because Fabian practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>forced</span>
  </em>
  <span> me too and, okay, sure, it’s not the worst thing in the world and I wouldn’t entirely be against doing it more often, but it’s not my </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Like Fabian, Ragh, and Sam can have surfing. But I’m a nerd kid, like you! Sure, I’m not a terrarium design kind of nerd, but one nonetheless. My thing just </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> happens to be my job. Not waiting tables, though. Investigating.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine laughed into her hand. “Riz, are you embarrassed to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>jock</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a jock,” he snapped. “You know I’m not a jock.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah. I know,” she said. “But you’re embarrassed to surf because you see it as jock behavior which, logically, makes no sense. It’s literally just a thing that you can do in your free time. You’re still the same nerd who brought Elmville case files to Bayside when you knew they’d be practically impossible to solve, regardless of whether you spend some of your free time on a surfboard or not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He groaned. “Am I really having an identity crisis over </span>
  <em>
    <span>surfing</span>
  </em>
  <span> right now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that the real reason for this crisis?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz’s eyebrows shot up. “Um, yes. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head. “Don’t worry about it. Forget that I mentioned it at all. Having a crisis over enjoying surfing is perfectly valid. If I were in your shoes, I’d do the very same.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t backtrack out of this,” he told her. “You meant something. What do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> think that I’m having a crisis over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really, Riz, don’t worry about it,” she insisted. “I’m obviously wrong anyway. We’ve been less close lately and clearly, I misread something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“About what?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed. “About you and Fabian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He relaxed. “Oh. You’re worried that he’s going to replace you or change me or something. Don’t worry, Adaine. You’re still my best friend and I’ll always be the Riz you know and love, surfing aside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know that,” she replied. “It’s been quite a weird summer, hasn’t it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It has,” he agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m having a good time, though,” she said. “Even if being a maid here is absolutely fucking awful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m enjoying it too,” he admitted. “I thought having to work in a restaurant instead of working on my cases was going to be miserable but I’ve had a good time this summer, for the most part. I hate proving my mom right when I already decided that she would be wrong but the people here are really special and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> making friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your mum is much wiser than you choose to believe,” she said with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want this summer to be over,” he told her. “I know it’s only halfway over but also it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>halfway over</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Even if we do come back here next year, there’s no way that it’s going to be the same. Fabian is only working here for this summer probably and who knows with everyone else. Fig is certainly convinced that she’ll have a music career off the ground by then and that she and Gorgug will be too busy being on tour to come work here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what you mean but, at the risk of sounding extremely hypocritical, you shouldn’t worry about that,” Adaine replied. “We need to cherish the moments that we have, not worry about what things will be like after they’ve slipped away.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And if surfing is something that makes you happy, you should cherish that too, no matter the reason that you tried it in the first place,” she continued. “I think you and I both struggle with allowing ourselves to feel happiness over things that aren’t intellectual achievements. It’s okay to enjoy other things. It’s healthy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded. “You, as always, are absolutely right, Adaine Abernant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled confidently. “I’m well aware.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe you should give surfing another shot,” he tried. “You know, you never </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> get on the water.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One lesson, with or without actual surfing, was more than enough to tell me that this wasn’t my thing,” she told him. “But you’re free to enjoy it as you’d like. And I’ll be on the beach cheering you on. Well, emotionally, at least. Most evenings, I’ll probably actually be at the library. Ayda and I are working on spells to give to one another by the end of summer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was worth a try,” he said with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It absolutely wasn’t and you just wasted about ten seconds of your life asking, but I appreciate you regardless,” she said with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A crash from the kitchen had them both standing up and rushing over. Fig and Gorgug were standing there with wide eyes, looking down at a shattered bowl and a big puddle of red all over the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” asked Riz, staring down at the mess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The pasta,” Gorgug said, a bit mournfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That seems to only be the sauce,” Adaine observed. “Where are the noodles?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig slapped a hand to her forehead. “I knew that we forgot something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen and Tracker walked in the front door hand in hand, saw the mess, and immediately turned back around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were going to serve us a bowl of sauce for dinner?” Riz asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t all be perfect, Riz,” Fig protested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m very sorry,” Gorgug said with a frown. “I guess we can order pizza or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There are still noodles in the cupboard,” Adaine pointed out. “Seeing as you forgot to make them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long does that take?” Gorgug asked. “I’m kind of getting hungry. This sauce smells really good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can make noodles in less time than it’ll take for a pizza to get here,” Riz replied. “Have you guys seriously never cooked before or something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I refused to learn because sometimes my mom asked me to cook dinner and I wanted to piss her off,” Fig said. “But I’m learning now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just fucked this one up,” Gorgug said with a frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How about the four of us fix this together,” Adaine suggested as Riz nodded in agreement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gorgug smiled a bit. “That would be great.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together, the four of them started cleaning the kitchen up and making dinner together.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Riz went surfing with the rest of them the following evening. He was, admittedly, a bit nervous because he hadn’t actually fessed up to Fabian about being less than truthful about quitting after his first lesson, not that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to tell him any of that. He was also excited, though. He wanted to get out on the water again and doing it with other people from summer staff made him feel like just another surfer rather than the mess of an anxious beginner that he actually was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To his delight, Fabian didn’t say anything about it when he asked to come along, just gave him a surprised glance. The others were thrilled to have him along. Especially Katja, who he hadn’t ever really spoken to about surfing before, not that he had necessarily spoken to her as much as some of the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I always thought you’d be a good surfer,” she informed him during their walk to the beach. “I told Ragh and Sam that, while you look spiny and small, you’re a quick little guy and that shit is so important on the waves.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you?” he replied, unsure if that could be considered a compliment if she was calling him spiny, even if that was technically the truth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, we don’t talk much but I can tell you’re a fun guy, deep down,” she continued. “You’re very up in your head and shit and, well, I’m not really that way but a bunch of my friends are. Especially Zelda, but you haven’t met her yet. It’s super normal. But the point is, when you’re more chilled out, you seem like you’re a really fun guy to hang with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well you seem, like, super cool,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Honestly, Katja was one of the coolest people that he’d ever met. She was strong and buff but completely chill. She often wore a smile on her face but bit back when needed. Most importantly, though, was the fact that Katja was unapologetic about who she was. Riz tried to be that way, and he was for most of his life, but it had been getting harder to be that way recently, ever since high school started and it was clear that he didn’t really fit in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” she said with a wide smile. “You’re pretty cool too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really,” he said with an awkward shrug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know if that’s modesty or self-deprecation but none of that tonight,” she told him. “You are cool, even if it’s in a different way than other people. Being cool isn’t about liking what everyone else likes. It’s about being yourself and doing your own thing. This detective thing you’re doing is super cool, man.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that’s not a “thing” that I’m doing. It’s my job,” he told her. “Like I get paid for it and everything, so I don’t know if that counts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you do it because you enjoy doing it?” she asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, yeah,” he replied. “It’s my passion.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then it’s more than a job and it totally counts,” she said. “Sorry, Riz, you have to face it. You’re cool.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughed a little. “Fine. I’m cool.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the beach came into view, Katja slapped him on the back. “Now let’s see what you’re made of.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen, who had come to the beach probably just to watch Tracker surf, came up behind him and threw an arm over his shoulder as the others rushed toward the beach, excited for the reprieve provided by the ocean after a long day of work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you ready?” she asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re nervous about surfing in front of Fabian,” she replied with a shrug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would I be nervous about that?” he asked suspiciously. He had never spoken to Kristen about any of this and, yet, it was like she could somehow read his mind even though detecting thoughts was more Adaine’s thing than anyone else’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen shrugged. “I don’t know, dude. Why would you be nervous?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to play some sort of mind game with me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” she replied. “Am I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms over his chest as he tapped his foot impatiently, a move that he had learned from his mother when she wanted him to be honest about things such as how many hours of sleep he had actually gotten or why his case board had expanded to her kitchen table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen just laughed. “I’m playing, man. I just remembered that you were like going to quit surfing and then you didn’t and I connected the dots.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a pretty steep jump,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed. “Ragh accidentally told Tracker about your secret surf session and then Tracker told me. She tells me everything because she’s like the best girlfriend in the world, so don’t try to fault her for this. Or Ragh, he really didn’t mean to. You really don’t have to worry, though! I didn’t pass the word any further.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me why I don’t believe you,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, Fig </span>
  <em>
    <span>asked</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” he said with a nod, jaw tightening. “So much for it staying between me and my surf instructor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, nobody actually cares,” she told him. “I just brought it up to check in on you. You know, because we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, to answer your questions I’m not nervous because of Fabian. Frankly, I have no idea where you got that idea,” he said resolutely. “I’m not excited to wipe out in front of everyone, but wiping out is perfectly normal so it can’t be that bad.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, wiping out is chill. I do it pretty much all the time,” she told him. “And I only sprained my wrist by wiping out once.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kristen, that’s because you surf with your flip flops on,” he replied. “You really aren’t supposed to do that. It’s honestly no wonder that your balance is shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s called </span>
  <em>
    <span>style</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Riz,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “If I can’t surf in my flip flops and sunglasses, is there really any point?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he started before shaking his head. There really was no point in arguing with her over something as stupid as surfing in flip flops, even if she was clearly the one who was wrong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway, don’t worry about wiping out,” she told him. “We all do it and nobody cares. Even Fabian wipes out sometimes, even if he thinks he’s too good for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess that you’re right,” he said with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I’m right, dude,” she replied. “I created my own god!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And yet you work at a hotel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged. “Creating a religion doesn’t exactly pay. If I were going for a cult, however, I’d be rolling in it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No offense, Kristen, but I don’t think you’d be a very good cult leader,” he told her honestly. “Fig probably would be, though. It’s about playing a part, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen nodded. “I see that. Maybe I should hire her to do some promo for the church. We only have like one loyal follower. Two if you count Tracker but she’s a cleric of another goddess so you probably can’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably not,” he agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An awkward moment of silence passed between them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kristen whistled a bit. “So, the beach?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that,” he replied, and together they headed toward the water after the others.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It was fun and, as Kristen had told him, he had nothing to worry about. Sure, he wiped out more than a few times, but so did anyone else. It was relaxing to be able to focus on just the board, his body, and the water after working his ass off all day long. And to do it surrounded by his friends just made it better, even if he did wish Adaine had come along as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He noticed Fabian watching him as he surfed but it wasn’t in a bad way. He seemed almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>impressed</span>
  </em>
  <span> by the way he surfed after just two sessions with a teacher. And, even if Fabian didn’t outwardly compliment Riz on his surfing, the notion that the thought was there was enough to will Riz with a warm feeling. Pride, probably. If he could impress someone as cool as Fabian, maybe he wasn’t half bad at this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He did receive actual compliments from some of his other friends, notably Ragh, Sam, and Penny. That felt really good too but something about Fabian’s unspoken praise was different. Perhaps it was because Fabian was a bit more focused on himself than others so to steal that focus was a great accomplishment. Maybe it was something else that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. If he had the time and somewhere private, he’d probably set up a case board about this. Unfortunately, he had a busy work week ahead of him and he shared a room with the very subject of the proposed case.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After they were done surfing, they all sat around the bonfire and had smores as a few of the maidens launched into this long story about their other friend’s last birthday party and how absolutely insane it had gotten. The way they told the story was disjointed with a lot of people speaking over each other and saying things out of order, which made it very difficult to follow, even for Riz. Still, he enjoyed the feeling of sitting around a fire with his friends and listening to them recant one of their favorite memories together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time they got back to the staff house, Riz was about ready to collapse into his bed. Surfing was exhausting, especially after working all day. Perhaps this would be the thing that finally forced his sleep schedule into gear. His mom would certainly be delighted if that were a case. Then again, he was fairly certain he’d fall back into old patterns as soon as he got back to Elmville. She could be very briefly delighted by it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But when he went to turn off the lights in his bedroom, Fabian grabbed his hand first.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we chat for a second?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m really tired,” Riz complained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian shrugged and looked at the floor. “It’ll just be a moment but if it’s too much of a burden, we can put it off until another time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Not a burden. Never a burden. We can chat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They climbed onto their respective beds and sat cross-legged, facing one another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what’s up?” Riz asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I suppose that I was just wondering why you told me that you didn’t like surfing and that you were quitting and then you didn’t,” he said. “Not that it’s a big </span>
  <em>
    <span>deal</span>
  </em>
  <span> or anything. Like you can do whatever you want. I was just wondering.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Adaine quit and I was worried about embarrassing myself. Penny and Antiope had to convince me to give it another try, actually. I wanted to see if I actually liked it once I got on the water so I called Ragh and had another lesson. It was more fun than I expected.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just- you know you could have told me, right?” he asked. “Honestly, The Ball I don’t care whether you like surfing or not, and I don’t want you to think you have to like </span>
  <em>
    <span>hide</span>
  </em>
  <span> it from me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t think that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Riz almost said, but that wouldn’t be the truth, would it? He had intentionally hidden his second surfing lesson and he wished that he could give him a good reason why.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a huge fan of learning things in front of an audience in general and the thought of embarrassing myself by wiping out in front of you was slightly terrifying,” he admitted. “I didn’t tell you because I knew the only way I was going to stand up on that board in the water for the first time was going to be without your eyes on my back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me in particular?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he replied all too quickly before letting out a sigh. “Maybe. I mean, I guess you seeing me fail was especially intimidating. It would be easier if it were like Adaine or Kristen or even Gorgug, maybe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it isn’t a bad thing,” he told him. “The opposite exactly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian raised an eyebrow. “How so?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Earlier tonight, Katja tried to convince me that I’m cool in my own, unique way. But I know that, by the standards of most people, I’m not cool at all. And I’m mostly alright with that. Before coming here, I didn’t have very many people in my life, but my friendship with Adaine and my dedication to my cases were more than enough to keep me content in my life,” he explained. “But now I’m here and I’m hanging out with people who are </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> cool. Notably you, Fabian Aramais Seacaster, son of Bill Seacaster. And, I don’t know, I never wanted to be the person who bent over backward to fit into the status quo and I still don’t think I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> that person. Maybe I’m turning into him and that sucks. The thing is, when you’ve never been cool and someone that is cool pays attention to you, there’s this immense pressure to impress them. So, yeah, I didn’t want you to see me fail because I didn’t want to ruin my only shot at someone as cool as you seeing me as anything other than the pathetic loser that I probably am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Ball, you are a loser but you aren’t pathetic,” Fabian told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian, do you honestly think that statement makes me feel good about myself?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me explain,” he requested. “You’re a loser by traditional views, I suppose. You don’t fit in with everything that’s expected of you and follow the pack. I’m the person that I am, this awesome cool guy because I spend every waking moment of my life being who I’m supposed to be. You pretty much called me out on this right after we met. Frankly, being cool is absolutely exhausting. What wouldn’t I give just to be Fabian for a day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why can’t you?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian let out a bitter laugh. “The easy answer would be to blame my father, to tell you that I need to be like him to be worth anything in his eyes. Honestly, I have no idea if that’s true or not. No, the real answer is that I have no idea what’s left when you set aside everything that I’ve decided I’m supposed to be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Man,” Riz said with a sigh. “Being a teenager kind of fucking sucks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was able to smile slightly. “It really does.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you for telling me to try surfing,” he said to Fabian. “I thought I wouldn’t like it. I mean, surfing seriously seems like it’s not my thing, but it’s actually really nice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” he replied with a bigger smile. “It’s nice to share something with you that brings me enjoyment as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, I really need to crash. I feel like I’m going to fall asleep sitting up which, I assure you, has happened to me before.”</span>
</p>
<p><span>“Of course,” Fabian said as he reached over to turn out the light.</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Goodnight, Fabian,” he told him as he laid down.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>A response came from across the room. “Goodnight, Riz.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. royalty returns</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>whew life has been insane we legitimately had ppl move into the dorms last weekend despite the fact that my entire school is in a pause rn... truly outstanding. anyway, i finally was able to get this chapter done and polished. i had fun w this one even though it might be a lot in certain ways. also it's very difficult to keep track of so many characters and make sure that a lot of them get their fair share of time in the spotlight but i think im managing jfdklasfjd i do like having riz interact with all sorts of folks bc i like writing so many different people! i hope you have fun reading this even if it may or may not be angsty<br/><a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">find me on tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was as if Riz’s friendship with Fabian transformed after that night. He wasn’t sure if it was the deep conversation that they had, the fact that Fabian had called him by his actual name instead of that dumb nickname that he’d come up with, or a little bit of both but they were much closer after that. The front that Fabian put up in front of everyone else dissipated when they were alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That extra level of intimacy made Riz’s chest grow warmer in a way that it never did when he was around Adaine but he didn’t really understand why. Maybe this was what people were talking about when they spoke about bromances and Riz just hadn’t ever really had a guy friend until this very moment. But, then again, his friendship with Fabian was very different from his friendships with Gorgug and Ragh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t bother him too much though. He was happy to have a best friend in Fabian (yes, Fabian and Adaine could </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> be his best friends) and there was no way that he was going to question that unless he had to, despite his general love for asking questions and solving mysteries.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Fabian fucking switched it up on him out of </span>
  <em>
    <span>nowhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At first, it was just that he was ignoring Riz entirely and, initially, he figured that Fabian was just not having a great day and that he wasn’t really chatty. After all, while it seemed at first he was shunning Riz especially because they typically had the most contact as roommates, Fabian hadn’t been speaking much with </span>
  <em>
    <span>anybody </span>
  </em>
  <span>at the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The following day, he turned mean. He had evolved from rude comments to friendly banter over time but suddenly Fabian was being the asshole he was when they met all over again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until Riz had come to the kitchen one night to find Sam, Penny, and Aelwyn talking in hushed tones that he realized something was actually going on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there something happening that I need to know about?” he asked cautiously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam startled for a moment and the other two girls comforted her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of your business,” Aelwyn replied with a tight smile. “It’s handled.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it, Riz,” Penny said in a much kinder tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam shook her head and rubbed at her eyes before turning around and facing him. It was clear that she had been crying. “It’s alright. You can come and sit with us if you want and I’ll explain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to push when she was already obviously not in the best state, but curiosity got the best of him and he took a seat at the table with them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” he asked Sam.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I’ve got my girlfriend and most of my best friends here with me. Nothing can take me down anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Penelope and Dayne checked back in,” Penny explained. “Totally out of nowhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aelwyn crossed her arms over her chest. “We had thought that they were gone for the summer when Fabian was sent over here and his guest privileges were seemingly revoked but it appears that maybe that wasn’t the case.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Penelope’s dad probably paid for it,” Sam said with a sigh. “He’ll get her pretty much anything that she asks for. I just wish I knew why she wanted to come back </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably to save Fabian from the “beggars” or some other nonsense like that,” Aelwyn guessed with a roll of her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz didn’t think that was the case. After all, they had said that they only spent time with Fabian for free stays at the resort. Now that Fabian couldn’t offer them that, it seemed odd that they would return for him, especially after how Penelope had talked down to Aelwyn on the day that they had arrived. There wasn’t really any clear motivation for them to be here. And yet, from his recent behavior, it seemed that Fabian was playing right into their hands anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian has been acting really weird,” he admitted. “At first, it felt like he was ignoring me and people around the house as a whole. More recently, he’s just been an asshole.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you two had grown quite close. I’m surprised that you hadn’t known that Penelope and Dayne were here before we did,” Aelwyn said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz chewed on his lip for a moment. “I thought that we had grown pretty close too. Maybe Fabian isn’t the friend that I thought he was.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Penny reached over and started to rub soft circles on his back. “Maybe he’s just having a hard time right now. It’s probably really confusing to him, to be confronted with his old friends when he has awesome new friends in his life. Especially when his old friends are clearly not good for his well-being, even if he’s had them for a lot longer than he’s had us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam nodded in agreement. “I mean, I’m sitting here crying at the fucking kitchen table. I understand being majorly stressed out by the presence of Penelope Everpetal and Dayne Blade.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got along with them once too,” Aelwyn reminded them. “Being friends with shitty people doesn’t justify adopting their shitty behavior. Grow up and show them that you can’t condone the things that they do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it might not always be that easy,” Penny attempted to argue for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Penny, you honestly don’t need to justify Fabian’s behavior. He’s a big boy. He can make his own decisions,” Aelwyn replied before turning toward Riz. “I think you should force him to choose. He can be Penelope and Dayne’s little bitch or he can be one of us. It’s pretty clear by now that there’s no place for him to be both.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Babe, I think that’s a bit harsh,” Sam said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it’s perfectly reasonable. I won’t be friends with someone who clearly still associates with the girl that hurt my girlfriend so badly,” Aelwyn insisted, puffing up her chest confidently. “And to now watch as he walks all over Riz? If Fabian chooses to be your friend only when his other friends aren’t around, then he isn’t choosing to be your friend at all. Don’t let him use you like Penelope used Sam last summer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he replied. “He’s not-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not in the exact same way, but he’s obviously hurting you nonetheless,” she interjected. “You might just be Adaine’s little friend but I’m not going to just sit here and tell you that your so-called friend suddenly ignoring you and being rude as soon as his richer, more popular friends show up is something that’s justifiable. Give him an ultimatum. Make him decide while they’re still here rather than listening to his empty promises when they’ve left again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz shook his head. “It won’t come to that. Fabian’s a good guy. I’m sure that he’s just shaken by them showing up out of nowhere and things will go back to normal soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope you’re right,” Penny said with a smile. “He has been quite friendly this summer and I, for one, have enjoyed having him around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian isn’t a bad guy,” Sam agreed. “Penelope and Dayne are just really manipulative. I mean, I stood by last summer and watched as they mistreated my friends while making out with one of them as soon as nobody was around. But I was given a chance to grow and become a better person and I think that Fabian should get one too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He has one,” Aelwyn replied. “I suppose that we’ll just have to see what he does with it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A voice in the back of his mind told Riz that Fabian had already made the choice that Aelwyn had proposed, that he had squandered his chance at redemption when he chose to cast aside Riz, a friend that he’d grown quite close with, in favor of appealing to Penelope and Dayne, going as far as to treat him like a nobody when they weren’t even around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But at the same time that Fabian and the Fabian that he had deep conversations with late at night when neither of them could sleep, the Fabian that had stood up for him in the restaurant: they seemed like different people entirely. Growth wasn’t always a straight line. Sometimes there were ups and downs, minor roadblocks on your journey to being a better person. Could he really fault Fabian for making a mistake?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Part of him wanted to ask him so that he could see once and for all if Fabian valued their friendship over his friendship with Penelope and Dayne. But, at this point in time, he knew that he couldn’t. Riz was a logical enough man to be able to evaluate his odds and, in this particular scenario, they didn’t look that great.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Despite there being no sign of it happening, Riz trusted that it would get better. Fabian would come to his senses and turn things around. Maybe he would actually even stand up to Penelope and Dayne and tell them to fuck off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, things only deteriorated further. Fabian was no longer around at all except to sleep and he’d been skipping almost all of his shifts, forcing Penny to make up for his absence. It was especially terrible because, as summer drew on, they only got busier and busier. It was hard to be one man down, even if that man wasn’t an original member of their staff. He was sure that this behavior wasn’t doing anything to prove that he was worthy of taking over the hotel someday. But, then again, Riz had yet to meet Bill Seacaster at all since he was seemingly eternally away on business. He was starting to wonder if that was just code for doing pirate stuff in place of running his hotel and spending time with his family.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Briefly, Riz thought of telling Fabian’s mom about his behavior, as childish as that was. He dismissed the thought pretty quickly when he recalled everything that Aelwyn had told him about Hallariel. Chances were, she didn’t give a shit about what Fabian did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least Riz had yet to see Dayne or Penelope around the resort. They were here, sure, but it seemed that they kept away from the restaurant, at least while he was working. Part of him wondered if he had Fabian to thank for that. Maybe Fabian was doing some good, simply by keeping them away from his real friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This </span>
  <em>
    <span>sucks</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Fig loudly complained, shaking Riz from his thoughts as he bussed empty tables shortly after the lunch rush.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s only going to get busier,” he reminded her. “As Bayside gets warmer, more people come. And there’s that big surf competition coming up. Unfortunately, there’s no reprieve from unruly or rude guests in sight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not what I’m talking about,” she replied. “Well, I mean, that does also suck but I’ve learned to live with it. Theoretically, more people means more publicity for Fig and the Cig Figs while we start to get out branding off the ground. Gorthalax, one of my dads, is supposed to come for a visit next week and we’re gonna majorly jam together and I was thinking, if things go well, that we could organize a legit concert. But with Fabian suddenly gone I’ve been training to be a hostess in case he never comes back, which I’m honestly starting to think he won’t. Anyway, covering for his ass means no time for me and Gorgug to utilize the stage here as practice space.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure that he’ll be back,” Riz said in such a tone that he couldn’t even convince himself that it was the truth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig snorted. “Right. You know, Riz, I’d like to have that much faith in Fabian but right now it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna happen. Usually, I’m a big believer in people growing and doing better but that means actually changing over time instead of just going back and forth, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do know,” he replied with a sigh. “I just think that Penelope and Dayne aren’t very good influences and that maybe he’s just scared of upsetting them or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, yeah,” she agreed. “But I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, Riz. People that sacrifice their real friends, the people that genuinely care about them, for popularity aren’t actually as great as they might have initially appeared. Trust me, I had to deal with that shit in middle school when all my so-called “friends” ditched me as soon as my horns popped in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t really had a ton of friends so I don’t really have much in terms of a frame of reference for any of this,” he admitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to believe that Fabian isn’t lost to us,” she told him. “I like Fabian. Sure, he can be insufferable when he talks about his wealth and shit. But he’s also charming and goofy and, most often, willing to stand up for the people he cares about. The fact of the matter is, he’s not acting like the Fabian that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>like which leads me to believe that, in the end, we are not the people that he actually cares about. Or maybe he’s just ashamed to like spending time with a band of misfits more than he likes hanging out with those rich asshats. Either way, it’s not fair to us to keep giving him chances.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So if he asked for another chance, you wouldn’t give him one?” he asked her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I would,” she replied. “I would give him a million chances, even if it wasn’t the right thing for me. But the thing is, I don’t think Fabian is gonna ask.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think I should confront him about it?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Publicly?” she asked. “Because, if so, I might try to market that somehow. Like, turn it into a song or hashtag or some shit. The band is still new enough where we’re willing to try pretty much anything to get some attention.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes. “Not publicly. I just want to know the truth of why he’s been acting this way and to see if that’s going to change any time soon. Aelwyn said that I should ask him to choose between me and them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“An ultimatum,” Fig said, wrinkling her nose. “Not exactly a fan of that. That type of shit is manipulative as fuck. Have a conversation with him about it, sure, but don’t hold a choice over his head and pretend like the world is black and white.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How would I even talk to him about this, though?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig shrugged. “I’d probably disguise myself as someone else and try to get a vibe about how he feels about all of this and then pursue an actual conversation later based on that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t that also manipulative?” he pointed out. “I mean, that involves straight up lying about who you are to somebody that’s supposedly your friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably,” she agreed. “I struggle with genuine interaction sometimes, though. You probably didn’t know that because I’m not super open with my feelings but it’s always easier to play a part for me. I’m growing too. But, yeah, if you want me to go full Hilda Hilda and try to prod for information, I can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, he considered it. As a detective, sometimes you had to approach problems from more unique angles in order to get the information that you needed to solve a case. But he didn’t want to lie to Fabian, not after the conversation that they had after the whole surfing ordeal. Just because Fabian seemed to disregard everything that they had built up together didn’t mean that he was going to do the same.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz shook his head. “If I’m going to talk to him about this, I need to be straight up with it. I just don’t think that I’m ready to do that yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then don’t,” she replied with a shrug. “Nobody is making you. Talk to him on your own time, not when Aelwyn tells you to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think that this problem might just fix itself if I wait it out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig straight up laughed. “Trust me, I’ve tried that one before. That shit does not work. But if you want to try, then be my guest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll give it a few days,” he decided out loud, unsure if he would even follow through on that much.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Riz decided that he would attempt to speak to Fabian about normal casual things that night. He wasn’t really the best at small talk but this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fabian</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he could make it work if he had to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We missed you at work this morning,” he tried, as they laid in their respective beds. “Fig said that she’s training as a hostess in case you don’t come back which is stupid because of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re going to come back. It’s literally your job. You can’t just leave without any notice. Besides, if you were done working here then you would have moved back into the penthouse already. Anyway, she was complaining because she has less time to practice with Gorgug and her dad is coming into town soon. Apparently, she wants to put on a concert or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good for her,” Fabian replied, and he heard him shift over so that he was facing away from Riz.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s it?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know what you want me to say, The Ball,” he said with a sigh. “I hear Fig and Gorgug play nearly every day. If they put on a concert or something of the like, I can hardly imagine that they’d be presenting us with any new material.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, it’s still exciting, though,” he countered. “They’re actually really good and I think they’ve actually got a shot of getting big, especially given the resort’s wealthy clientele. If they do get famous someday, wouldn’t it be cool to say that you were there at their first show?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian flipped back over. “I thought you were a logic-driven detective. Statistically, Fig and Gorgug’s band will never amount to anything. I’m sure that you know this. So why would I waste my time at a concert full of songs that I am far too familiar with at this point?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because Fig and Gorgug are your friends,” he replied. “And don’t act like you don’t know that they really have the talent to make it. Not only do they have the skill, but Fig also has the persistence to keep trying when the odds are tough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t understand why we're arguing about this,” Fabian said. “Whatever is going to happen with their band is going to happen and we simply can’t predict that right now. Besides, why do you care about whether or not I’m at Fig’s concert? Where I go doesn’t concern you, The Ball.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It does when I have no idea where that is or when you’ll be back since you’re never fucking around anymore</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought, but chose not to say it out loud. Was it really his place to be that worried about where Fabian went in his own free time? Or, he supposed, when he was supposed to be at work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just want Fig to be supported,” he said instead in a quiet voice. “And, if you were a real friend, you would be willing to go to her concert and support her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The entire concert is hypothetical,” he reminded him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And yet you’ve already decided that you won’t be there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian let out a heavy sigh and sat up on his bed. “I’m not sure that I’ll even be </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> after this weekend. I’m not going to promise my time to a hypothetical concert.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz sat up too. “Wait, what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have received an invitation from Dayne to go stay with him at his place for the rest of the summer and check out the elite adventuring school that he and Penelope attend so that I can decide whether or not I would like to go there in the fall,” he explained. “It really is an excellent opportunity. I only hadn’t considered it before because it would mean spending so much time away from my Papa but, given that I’ve scarcely seen him the entire summer since he’s been away on business, I might as well go and make sure that I’m more of a man by the time I see him again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“More of a man?” he asked. “Fabian, you’re already a man. There isn’t really a more to that aspect of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know what I mean,” he insisted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I certainly do not,” he replied. “Being a man isn’t something that you have to do or perform, and there certainly isn’t any one way to be one. It’s just something that you are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian looked him up and down for a moment. “I certainly don’t expect that you would understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz’s jaw tensed. “What the fuck is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> supposed to mean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gestured vaguely. “It’s just that you’re not exactly a manly guy. Like you don’t really care about sports or anything. Just your cases and about dressing like a little newsboy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” he said flatly. “There’s more than one way to be “manly” and I happen to be quite comfortable with my masculinity. It seems like you’re the one that needs to deal with yours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s really not your fault,” Fabian continued. “I mean, I’ve always had my Papa to look up to. I know that your father passed when you were-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop,” he interjected. “Just stop. My dad was fucking awesome when he was around and my mom has done a fantastic job raising me without him. I’m not going to sit here and listen to you claim that she wasn’t good enough because I’m not traditionally cool in the way you try so desperately fucking hard to be. Honestly, fuck you, Fabian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He rolled over to face the wall so that he wouldn’t have to look at him for a while. In the silence, he felt his eyes fixed on his back but, after a few moments, there was the rustling of sheets on the other side of the room, revealing that Fabian was going to bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz quietly let out a shaky breath that he hadn’t realized that he had been holding in and forced the tears back the best he could. He had thought that Fabian was one of his best friends but, as it turned out, he didn’t even fucking like him at all. The only people that he could really count on were the same people that he always had: his mom and Adaine. Unfortunately, the person out of those two that he wanted the most right now was a few hours away and the other was dead asleep down on the second floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled the covers over his head. At least this way he could pretend that he was alone.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>He must have been moping pretty heavily the following morning because Ragh, of all people, asked him if he was okay at breakfast. Ragh who, despite being a very good friend and kind person, wasn’t the most aware of his surroundings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz was so astonished that he forgot to be mad and upset at Fabian for a few seconds. “I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You just seem like majorly down, bro,” he said. “Like usually when you’re around for breakfast you talk about detective cases for so long that you’re the last one still eating but today you finished before me which is really crazy because I eat extremely fast.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a real shame that Ragh’s miracle of insight didn’t go far enough to clue him in that this was perhaps a conversation that he should have pulled him aside for rather than one that he should start publicly at breakfast with Katja, Tracker, and, much to his dismay, Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right,” she told Ragh before narrowing her eyes at Riz. “Something is off about you. I’m surprised I didn’t catch it first but, honestly, it’s just been a busy week at work. Dayne and Penelope have been absolutely destroying their room, seemingly just for the fun of it, and Cathilda has been calling me in to help her since it’s too much for one person to handle.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you should probably get some rest then,” he told her. “Instead of interrogating me over bowls of shredded wheat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker snorted but didn’t say anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you two are eating that shit,” said Katja before pulling a strip of bacon off of her plate of meat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My stomach isn’t awake enough to eat anything of substance,” Adaine explained. “And it’s far healthier than that bowl of sugary nonsense that Tracker is eating.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I live with Kristen Applebees year-round. Trust me, she sells you on sugar,” Tracker defended. “Now back to why Riz is upset. Is this about Fabian?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s about the fact that I have two-and-a-half unsolved cases back in Elmville and yet I’m sitting here at breakfast in Bayside like none of it is happening,” he lied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s cute that you think any of us believe that,” Tracker replied. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to but lying to us isn’t gonna work. We know you two have gotten pretty close and we know that he’s been acting off since the Privilege Princess and her consort rolled into town.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, I think that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to talk about it,” Adaine pushed. “At least to me. I’m your best friend and I want to know these things.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We just talked a little last night and he said some rude things,” he said with a shrug, trying and failing to pass it off like it was nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want me to fuck him up?” Katja asked. “I’ll fuck him up if you need me to, dude.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker whacked her on the arm. “We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> fucking up Fabian. He’s just probably really lost and confused right now. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He told me that I don’t really know what it’s like to be a man because my dad is dead,” he explained quietly. “I hardly think that Dayne and Penelope could manage to whisper those words into his ear last night when it was just me and him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was silent for a moment and Riz looked down at the table to avoid the gazes that were obviously fixed on him right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a whole book full of spells that we can use to fuck him up,” Adaine said finally. “Ayda whipped up the most wonderful spell for me. I don’t know how I’ll possibly pay her back with something as good but I can worry about that </span>
  <em>
    <span>after</span>
  </em>
  <span> we fuck Fabian up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, what he said was </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of line but we still shouldn’t cause him any bodily harm. He’s still our friend, even if he is being a total ass. Besides, Dayne and Penelope are the really bad guys here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dayne and Penelope didn’t hurt my best friend,” Adaine countered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, they hurt mine,” Tracker replied, reaching next to her to grab Ragh’s hand. “And I think that they’re hurting Fabian in the exact same way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz didn’t notice how quiet Ragh had been since his initial question until he spoke, clearly on the verge of tears. “Dayne, yeah. He fucked me up, man. Like, seriously fucked me up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can explain for you if you want,” Tracker offered. “Or we can drop the subject entirely. I don’t want to push you, just to put things into perspective.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s cool,” Ragh replied, wiping his eyes before continuing. “I guess it’s just that Dayne was my best friend for years. Like, I didn’t have the money that he had but we fucking grew up together in the same town and were on the same bloodrush team so that shit didn’t really matter. And, I don’t know, I sort of fell for him over time? Like I totally didn’t know I was gay but I worshipped him and did whatever he wanted and, okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I really wanted to kiss him but I thought I wanted to in like joking way but really it was because he was super fucking hot. Anyway, while I was super fucking oblivious to my feelings, he fucking knew all about that shit. Like I didn’t realize it until I explained everything to Tracker last summer and she told me but he totally knew and used it to like manipulate me and shit. I did whatever the fuck he wanted because I liked him and he enjoyed it but like only the having power over me part. And the whole time he was spouting all this homophobic bullshit and dragging me to church with him to worship Helio even though he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> that me and my mom never gave a shit about Helio because we aren’t really religious and, if we were, her family totally worships this other god anyway. So, yeah, the point is that I was a major asshole just like Fabian is being a major asshole and it’s all because I had a stupid fucking crush on Dayne.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh started openly crying and Tracker immediately wrapped a comforting arm around him. Katja reached over and patted him lightly on the back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So are you trying to tell me that Fabian is in love with Dayne?” Riz asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tracker shook her head. “I really don’t think so. Not in a romantic sort of way. Maybe he’s in love with the idea of him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t that basically the same thing?” asked Katja curiously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “No. I don’t think Fabian wants to be with Dayne Blade. I think he wants to </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> him. Fabian strikes me as the type of dude who has major struggles with self-worth. And, think about it in the context of what he said to hurt you. Dayne is this super popular guy that he knows that is constantly rewarded for being traditionally masculine. He’s rich, he has an attractive girlfriend, and he generally gets respect from people around him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No respect here,” Katja said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it’s not here that Fabian is worried about getting respect,” Tracker replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He wants it from his dad,” Riz inferred.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. “Yeah. I think he puts a lot of pressure onto him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That doesn’t excuse what he said,” Adaine reminded them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t,” RIz agreed. “But it explains it. I definitely feel better knowing that it came from a place of fear and insecurity rather than a place of hate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should help him,” Katja suggested. “Stand up to Dayne for him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s a little more complicated than that,” Tracker said. “I think having a conversation with Fabian about it is the best way to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That didn’t exactly work out super well for me,” Riz said with a sigh. “I would love more than anything to have Fabian back, but clearly a conversation isn’t the way to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you beat around the bush or go into it straight up?” Tracker asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I wasn’t going to just walk in there and </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell</span>
  </em>
  <span> him that he was being a dick,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian seems like the type of person that you need to be more direct with,” Adaine said. “He’s certainly not the most insightful guy in Spyre. And I know that you can be confrontational when it serves you best.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And if we need to confront Dayne and Penelope after that, we’re ready to stand up against them,” Katja told him. “Regardless of whether that involves ass-kicking or not even though, given what they’ve done to my friends, I would love to put my fist between both of their eyes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I second that,” Tracker said with a nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine pulled out her spellbook and threw it on the table. “I’ll make sure that I have the proper spells prepared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh sniffled a bit but smiled. “You all are the coolest friends ever, did you know that? Even if you’re doing it for Fabian and not me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re doing it for you too, big guy,” Tracker said with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m confused, are we fighting Dayne and Penelope or am I talking to Fabian?” he asked, “I feel like this conversation derailed at some point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Talk to Fabian,” Tracker told him. “And then if we need to fight them…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Katja made a show of cracking her knuckles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, got it,” he said with a nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe talking with Fabian wouldn’t be so intimidating. After all, he still had everyone else at his back if things went poorly. All his other friends cared about him and would be there to comfort him if Fabian decided that he didn’t want Riz in his life anymore.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Riz paced across his room as he waited for Fabian to get back from wherever he was. Certainly not work since he had ditched yet again to spend time with his douchey rich friends. Still, he had to come back to sleep which meant that he would be there eventually, and, when he did show up, Riz would be ready to bombard him with the proper words that he had been practicing in his mind for the past hour.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What in the nine hells are you doing, The Ball?” a voice asked, making him jump about a foot in the air. “I can only take so much of this. You’re making </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> nervous.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to find Fabian, sitting on his bed and looking vaguely bored.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long have you been back?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian briefly checked his crystal before replying. “About ten minutes. You seemed quite fixed in whatever you were doing so I didn’t want to bother you but, if I’m going to be honest, it’s quite distracting. You’re not a very loud walker, but I can’t concentrate on anything when you’re walking back and forth in my peripheral. I can’t even remember what I came in here to do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to talk,” he told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “No, I don’t think that was it. I think that maybe I was just going to get ready for bed. But, gods, if there’s something else then it’s going to bother me all night and I won’t be able to fall asleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me rephrase,” he tried. “I need to talk to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it’s about work that’s honestly none of your business, The Ball,” he told him. “I’ll chat with Doreen when I have a chance and get it all sorted. I’m not completely certain that I’m leaving yet, so I didn’t want to jump the gun, so to speak.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t go with Dayne,” he replied. “For the love of god, stay here with the people that actually care about you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dayne and Penelope came back for me,” he said, a bit cautiously. “And he personally asked me to stay with them for the summer. He said that I would get into the school for sure and that I could play bloodrush there since he’s the captain of the team. It’s actually a very good opportunity to prove myself and make it in the world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Prove yourself as what?” he asked. “An asshole who abandons his friends and says horrible things to them to impress people that only pretend to care? Somebody who ditches work without saying anything to go fuck around and do nothing? As a person who places his value on what people he perceives as cool think about him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think you’re being quite fair,” Fabian replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “If I go to a school like this, I’ll be set to run the hotel one day in my papa’s absence.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t that already going to happen?” he asked. “Isn’t that why you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>working here</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he started.</span>
</p>
<p><span>“Fabian, be honest with me,” Riz said. “Do you even </span><em><span>want</span></em><span> to run the hotel after your dad is gone or do you just think that it’s what you’re supposed to do because you’re his only son.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“You don’t get it. My papa-” he started.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“Not your papa. You.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He opened his mouth as if to say something else and then closed it, clearly without any other words coming to mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve been horrible to me all week,” Riz told him, shifting the conversation back to what he originally meant to confront him about. “I thought that you were my friend but you haven’t been acting like it. You’ve been disrespecting me as a friend by ignoring me and saying rude things and you’ve been disrespecting me as a coworker by skipping shifts and forcing everyone else to cover for you. And that thing that you said to me last night, that thing about my dad, that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> too far. It’s okay if you’re not comfortable in your own masculinity because you’ve always based it off of who your father is and who your friends are. Ragh has made it more than clear that Dayne is manipulative and probably uses your insecurities to buy your trust so he can use you like he used him. What isn’t okay is attacking me because I’m different from you. What’s also not okay is attacking me because I might be like you in some ways that you’re uncomfortable with, such as being an actual caring person and having the ability to express basic emotions. So if you really, truly want to run off with Dayne after what he and Penelope said behind your back at the beginning of the summer and after everything they did to our friends, that’s your decision, even if I don’t want you to go. But if you want to stay here and you’re scared about something that either of them might say or do, we, your </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>, have your back. Despite everything that you’ve done to me since they arrived back in Bayside, I’m here for you, Fabian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was silent for a moment, clearly needing a moment to process everything he said. When he finally spoke, there was a true look of sincerity on his face. “I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you. I didn’t realize how hurtful it might have been. Or perhaps I did and I was too caught up in everything to get it. If I’m going to be honest, I’m very confused about some things right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, maybe I can help you clear up some of the confusion,” he offered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would Dayne and Penelope come back for me if they didn’t care?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that, well, that was honestly something that kind of had Riz stumped as well. A few possibilities floated around his mind but none were concrete enough to hedge his bets on. With Ragh no longer in his social circle, maybe Dayne wanted to use Fabian as a pawn of sorts. Somebody to prop him up, to make him seem cooler than he was. Or maybe it was something to do with that weird cult-religion that he seemed to be in. From everything that Kristen had said about her history with the Helioic Church, the people there were very extreme about their beliefs and eager to drag others into it with them, especially because converting a half-elven member might make them look more progressive than they were. Or maybe Dayne was just bored and wanted to fuck with Fabian for the hell of it. Regardless, it seemed obvious to Riz from just about everything that he’d heard about Dayne Blade that he wasn’t here out of the kindness of his heart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he wants to use you,” he said slowly. “I don’t know how, exactly,  but I don’t think that Dayne is being super sincere about his reasons for being here. Also, even if he was, he’s also like straight up just not a good guy and you can definitely do better in terms of friends. You already </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> done better when you made a point to connect with all of us, even if you were kind of forced to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian mumbled something under his breath that Riz couldn’t quite make out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed. “I said that I wasn’t forced to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, not directly, but when you moved into this house, it was kind of inevitable,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. That isn’t what I mean,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I wasn’t forced to move here at all. I haven’t spoken to my papa since he left the resort. You don’t exactly get reception on the Celestine Sea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, so why are you here then?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because why would someone like Fabian, who had access to everything that he could ever want, move from his penthouse to a shitty staff house and get a shitty job when he already had a pretty much limitless allowance? He gave it all up when he moved in and it made absolutely no sense.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He chewed on his lip for a moment. “You’re going to make fun of me for it. You’re already making a face.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m making a face because I’m perplexed,” he explained. “I’m not going to make fun of you. I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian sighed. “I lied about being forced to work at the Harpy and moved in here because I’ve watched my whole life as the summer staff bonded and became lifelong friends. When I sent Dayne and Penelope away the first time, I suppose that I just didn’t want to be alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And, well, while he hadn’t been expecting that answer, he couldn’t exactly blame Fabian. Making friends was half the reason that his mom had insisted that he come work here this summer and it was the thing that he liked most about it but, even before that, he had Adaine. Fabian had nobody. He was glad that he found his people in the same place that Riz did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So why would you go back to them?” he asked finally. “You went out of your way to make friends here with us and you were going to give it all up for the people that hurt you in the first place?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our entire friendship and my friendship with everyone else in this house are built upon a lie,” he explained. “If they knew, they’d probably think I was either manipulative or unlikeable. Desperate, certainly. With Dayne and Penelope, at least I know that our friendship isn’t under false pretenses.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you kidding me?” he asked. “Like seriously, you can’t think that’s true.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This sounds suspiciously like you making fun of me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “No, I just can’t believe that you think you’re more honest with them than you are with us. Fabian, it’s so obvious to everyone here that you put up an act when they’re around to impress them or imitate them or something. They aren’t lucky enough to know the real Fabian, the Fabian that I have conversations about anything in the middle of the night with like I am. Like all of us are, to some extent. We don’t like you because you have to live here or because you’re rich or because your dad is our boss. We like you because you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fabian</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m a liar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not anymore,” Riz replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then I’m a loser,” he insisted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Join the club.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian looked down for a moment and took a deep breath before meeting Riz’s eyes. “You really want me to stay here this summer? After what I said to you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re one of my best friends,” he reminded him. “No matter the origins of our friendship or the mistakes that have been made, that much is still true.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And the others?” he asked. “They still want me around?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They might not be super happy now but pretty much everyone in this house knows how manipulative that Dayne and Penelope can be,” he replied. “And everyone here likes you more than they’re mad at you. Though, Adaine might give you the cold shoulder at first. We’re very protective of each other.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded. “I’ll stay then, I suppose.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz smiled. “Do you need us to tell Dayne and Penelope to fuck off for you? I happen to know that there’s a small army of people in this house that have already offered to kick their asses.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian was able to laugh a bit at that. “I don’t think that will be needed. They paid to stay here and they can stay as long as they wish. I think I’ll be able to make it clear that I’ll no longer be taking part in entertaining them during their stay here and that, while I can’t kick them out myself, I think that it will serve them best to leave because I honestly don’t think that my staff should have to put up with all their shit any longer and I won’t make them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s noble of you,” he replied with a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled back. “It’s what’s necessary. If they choose to leave, I won’t have to give them a refund.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to keep living in the house and working with us?” he asked. “I mean, now that we’ve cleared the air about it, you really don’t need to pretend anymore to keep our friendship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I will,” he replied. “I can’t believe that I’m saying this but I think that working at the Harpy has been one of the most valuable things I’ve done in my life. And I do kind of enjoy having a roommate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like having you around,” he admitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A call lit up on Fabian’s crystal, from Dayne. He hit ignore and silenced his phone. “We should go to bed,” he told him. “We’re both working the early shift tomorrow morning.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” he told him with a smile as he switched off the light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you then.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. a love song</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this chapter was so fun i've been waiting to write it since i outlined the fic back in like july or whatever. sorry it's a bit late i'm on call this weekend so my writing time is hit or miss lmao anyway love y'all have fun w this one<br/>as always im on <a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Saturdays off were rare and coveted. Riz still struggled to go to sleep on time many nights, though sharing a room with Fabian and starting shifts at 6am had definitely forced him to fix that to some extent, so mornings where he could actually sleep in, especially when it was a traditional weekend day, were actually really exciting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except the universe hated him and he woke up at about 7 in the morning to the blaring of a bass downstairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian, who wasn’t working until the afternoon that day and quite valued his beauty sleep, rolled over and screamed into his pillow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Adaine wasn’t working right now, she would certainly be down there yelling at Fig to be quiet but, unfortunately, it seemed that job was going to fall onto Riz. He ran downstairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?!” he asked when he got into her room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t hear you!” she yelled back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop playing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what you’re saying because the music is too loud,” she replied. “I’m gonna stop playing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She set down the bass and the room was so quiet so fast that he thought his ears were somehow gaining permanent damage just from the rapid change.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what’s up?” she asked. “I didn’t realize you were off this morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” he replied. “I planned on sleeping in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, I hate those mornings when you wake up early and you just can’t fall back asleep. That happened to me too this morning, actually. I got up and I remembered that Gorthalax is getting here tonight and I just couldn’t sleep so I thought that I’d practice. I want to be ready for when he gets here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fig, your practicing woke up the entire house,” he told her, slapping a hand to his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she said with wide eyes. “Shit, Riz, I’m so sorry. It’s just that, like I said, my dad gets here tonight and I’m like super nervous. Not that I usually </span>
  <em>
    <span>get</span>
  </em>
  <span> nervous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to impress your dad,” he assumed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, somewhat,” she replied. “But also Doreen and Aguefort said that it’s chill if we do a show on Friday after the restaurant closes and I have to figure out all the details and make posters and stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think you’d be nervous about putting on a show. I mean you play at The Harpy all the time when people are eating there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not nervous about that,” she told him. “Not exactly. There’s more to it than that. It’s about the organizational stuff and, well, I want the right people to be there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like music execs?” he asked. “I mean I think that’s all a matter of chance but a lot of the visitors here are pretty rich so someone will probably at least spread the word to somebody that counts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed. “I don’t care about whether music execs are there or not. I just want Ayda to be there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean if you ask her-” he started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig shook her head violently. “Nope. I don’t want to scare her off. I mean, I did write her a song that I want to perform at the show but we have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>get</span>
  </em>
  <span> her to the show first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friends can invite each other places,” he pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no,” she replied. “I have to be more smooth about it, more careful. Ayda, she’s really special to me. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the library. Like, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really like her then,” she assumed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “I know this is like super early but I think I might love her which is absolutely insane. Do you know what I mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “I believe you but I don’t really know what attraction is supposed to feel like, romantic or sexual.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” she said with a nod. “I forgot. Well, I guess I can try to explain it to you. Whenever I’m around Ayda, almost every single thing I do is about making her happy or impressing her. Like, if she told me to jump, I’d leap higher than I ever have before. So that’s why I need the show to be perfect. I need her to know that what I do, it’s for her, and I want to tell her in a special way. It scares me how much I like Ayda and how real I am with her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz got stuck on her description of love. “But how is that any different from how you act around someone that you really want to be friends with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged. “I mean it just is. I guess with friends it’s more effortless because the intimacy that grows is a lot more casual. But with people I like romantically, it’s definitely different. Like I don’t feel a constant need to impress my friends because they already know me and have accepted that as is. That isn’t to say that it’s the same for everybody. That’s just how it is for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His blood ran a bit cold as he thought back to the massive deal that he had made about surf lessons and about how he’s been going out of his way to impress Fabian for a long time now. Was it really just a friend thing? As a child, he had just assumed that he would know what romantic love felt like when it happened but, as he grew older and learned more about different sexualities, he accepted that it wasn’t something that he’d ever feel. When he met Adaine, he’d been thrilled to find somebody that had the same experiences in terms of that. Had he been lying to himself the entire time without realizing it? But why would he be suddenly experiencing attraction now, after all this time? And why would he be feeling it for Fabian versus literally any person that he was more similar to?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” Fig asked, shaking him from his thoughts. “You look like you’re having some sort of moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-” he started but shook his head. “I’ll help you get everything ready for the concert if you want. I mean, it’s obviously super important to you so I’m more than willing to lend a hand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled widely. “You’re like the coolest friend ever. Do you think that you can get Adaine in on it? Maybe she can invite Ayda since they’re friends too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, maybe,” he replied with a shrug. “Probably.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, not yet though,” she told him. “Meet up with me after dinner tonight. We have some planning to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz briefly wondered what the hell he’d just signed himself up for. That was friendship, he supposed. Just like his friendship with Fabian, right?</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>He was surprised to find that Fig had assembled a council of sorts to help her out rather than just Riz based upon his offer. It was all the Bad Kids and Riz considered mentioning that except Gorgug still didn’t know the full story behind why he got his job back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, team, we have a concert to put on and I’m going to need every single one of you if we’re going to make this as awesome as it needs to be,” she told them, clapping her hands together. “We should make it short because my dad is checking into his room right now and Gorgug and I are meeting up with him in like an hour to get practicing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s my job?” Fabian asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig pointed to him. “That is an excellent question, Fabian. What is Fabian’s job in this very delicate operation? Well, the answer is that I don’t know because I only assigned a job to one person.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t thought through any of this?” Adaine asked, with an eyebrow raised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve thought through some things,” she replied. “Like that I want it to be super epic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fig, there are a lot more semantics involved when putting on an event like this than you’d think. Wanting it to be super epic is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a solid plan. Is there going to be food served there? If so, where is that money coming from? How many people do you think will be there? Are you selling tickets or having people pay at the door or is it a free event? None of these questions are answered by you wanting it to be super epic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make a fair point, Adaine,” Fig said with a nod. “That’s why I decided that you’ll be in charge of planning and delegating. This event officially rides on your shoulders.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine’s eyes widened and he heard the pace of her breathing pick up so he grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. “It’s not on your shoulders. We’re all going to work together to make this thing great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Adaine,” Gorgug agreed. “Anything you need, I’ll help with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And this is still, above all, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fig’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>concert,” Fabian reminded her. “From an audience standpoint, all the mishaps will fall on Fig and Gorgug. Well, and Fig’s papa but he doesn’t have to show his face here on a daily basis.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So if we want to go back to the food part, that’s a definite yes vote from me,” Kristen said. “I mean, if you’re having a concert in a restaurant, that’s almost expected. Like can you imagine going to a concert where you have to sit at a dining table and not getting deliciously unhealthy snacks?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought that maybe we’d clear the tables,” Fig replied. “Maybe we can keep a few chairs in the back for people who need them, but I think standing room is the best option. If everyone is sitting at a dining table, it just doesn’t really feel like a rock concert, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we can have a concession stand situation through the window to the kitchen,” Gorgug suggested. “People can pay for snacks and drinks and have them while they’re waiting for the show to start. That way we don’t have to worry about early arrivals getting restless if we’re running a bit behind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about the draw?” Fabian asked. “How are you going to convince people that this concert is worth their time, especially if you were thinking of charging money for tickets. I mean, these people can come see you play for free pretty much any day. Why would they pay for it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is your goal to make money or become more well-known?” Adaine followed up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I mean I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> enjoy money,” Fig said slowly, clearly still considering the question. But I guess getting our name out is more important to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then have you considered doing it as a charity benefit concert?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig’s eyes lit up. “Adaine, you’re a fucking genius. Can I like kiss you or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She settled for hugging her tightly for an uncomfortable amount of time and then turned to face all of them again. “We’re going to save the turtles.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that you may think reusable straws are more cost-effective and environmentally friendly but the fact of the matter is-” Fabian started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig waved him off. “No, not that. I couldn’t give less of a shit about straws. I think we should raise money to relocate the remaining pseudodragon turtle population up the bay a bit, to a spot with less water traffic. Then we can actually make a difference while also honoring the legacy of a previous Ayda Aguefort.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz nodded. “I think that’s a really good idea. We can pretend that we heard about the cause from an anonymous group and that we want to make a change while still making the hotel look good because they’re the host of the benefit concert. It’ll keep Goldenhoard off the scent and help us actually make a difference.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug furrowed his eyebrows. “Keep Goldenhoard off of what scent?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you were briefly fired there was some issue with pseudodragon turtles. I really don’t think Goldenhoard enjoys speaking about it so I wouldn’t bring it up,” Fabian lied effortlessly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Alright, noted. Thanks for the heads up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to find these turtles first,” Kristen said. “So that we have more information about them for when we have to use the money to organize their relocation. Also, I just think that they’ll probably be cute and I want to see them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kristen, if you’d like, I think that would be a good job for you and Tracker,” Adaine suggested. “Since you are the wilderness guides. If Danielle can help, she’d probably be good too but I know that she might have other commitments.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She saluted her. “Got it. We can work on it tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine turned to Fabian next. “I know that you’re probably not too eager about doing organizational work for this concert but can you work with Doreen and your parents to organize concessions for the event? Make sure it’s not only the expensive stuff. We should sell a mix of things through the window and some of them need to be affordable for people that aren’t the heir to a high-end hotel chain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve had normal food before, Adaine,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No kippers,” she told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He put his hands on his hips. “Don’t be so unreasonable. I think that kippers would be a lovely snack to serve at the concession stand for any people, regardless of their financial situation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No kippers,” Fig agreed. “Fabian, you’re free to like whatever foods you want, but I am not serving </span>
  <em>
    <span>kippers</span>
  </em>
  <span> at my concert.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes. “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> the stuck up one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next, Adaine turned to him. “Riz, I think that you would be the best one to advertise. Your speed would help to get posters up around town and hand out flyers as fast as possible and if everybody could chat with any locals that they know, I think that we might be able to gather a sizable crowd.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointed to both Fig and Gorgug next. “You two need to focus on practicing. You obviously already play pretty well together but you haven’t played with Gorthalax before, even if he’s been rehearsing independently. So work with him and get everything down, including things like choreography because, while this isn’t a play or anything, stage presence is essential to making an impact on the audience. If you have any spare time, feel free to help any of the rest of us. I’m sure that it’ll be appreciated. We can try to get the others involved if they have any spare time. I’m sure Ragh will be down to help on the night of the show because we’re going to need to move tables around and, well, only like half of us are physically strong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what are you going to be doing, Adaine?” Fabian asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Working with all of you and getting all the details in order,” she replied. “I’m sure other issues will arise as we go. I’ll also get ticketing set up and contact people that might be able to help us with our charity endeavor once we’ve collected the money. I’ll speak with Ayda about that and try to get some help from some of the others that couldn’t attend the meeting tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, assigning Adaine to delegate was the best possible move,” Fig said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine checked her watch. “You’re meeting your father in less than half-an-hour. You and Gorgug need to start getting things set up. Go, all of you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others rushed out the door, clearly intimidated by a side of Adaine Abernant that they hadn’t been fortunate —or unfortunate— enough to witness in the past. Riz, however, had done quite a few group projects before and saw this all the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you scared them off,” he told her, hopping down from where he was sitting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled. “Based on the last time that we all tried to plan something, I thought it would be best to take a more assertive approach. You don’t think it was too much?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “Nah. They’re very easily distracted </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> you cut this meeting down an hour at the very least. You know that Fabian would keep poking holes in your planning if you were more passive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I just hope everyone gets their tasks done now that they’re off on their own,” she said with a sigh. “I mean obviously you will and Gorgug will help with anything that he’s asked to help with. But the other three are wildcards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think they’re sufficiently frightened,” he told her. “And Kristen may be extremely easily distracted but when Tracker finds out that they’re doing this to help out friends and an endangered species, I feel like she’ll be able to push her into being more on task.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how do you feel about Fabian?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” he muttered, eyes widening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt heat flush to his cheeks. He should probably talk about this whole thing that he was kind of avoiding figuring out at some point with her. After all, the only person that knew Riz better than Adaine was his mom and she wouldn’t really be much help with this specific thing since she’d never met Fabian or seen the two of them interact with one another. But, at the same time, if he told Adaine it was all real and it was something that he’d have to actually deal with. And what if she somehow got mad about it, even though he logically knew there was no way that she would. It was so much to think about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she continued. “Do you think that he’ll be dependable? I mean, I didn’t give him an overly difficult job since it mostly involves just speaking with people he’s well-acquainted with. But gods, what if he really messes up the menu?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, that. I don’t think you have to worry too much about him. I’m sure that he’ll sneak some weird rich person food that we’ve never even heard of onto the menu but he’ll also have normal stuff like nachos and burgers. I mean, he’s lived with us long enough to realize that there are pleasures beyond tiny spoonfuls of caviar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you think I was talking about something else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I just spaced out for a moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gods, I can’t lose you on this mission. Fig put all the pressure on me,” she said with a playful grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He punched her in the arm. “Right. As if you could lose me. Can’t get rid of best friends that easily.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, get to work then,” she told him. “We need posters up as quickly as possible so it would probably be best to work on the design and have a draft to show me by the time I go to bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz saluted her. “You got it. I’ll get to work right now.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>While his dexterity would prove useful in spreading the posters around quickly, choosing him to design posters probably wasn’t the best decision on Adaine’s part. First off, he didn’t have much in terms of complex graphic design software because illegally downloading stuff was, as it said in the name, illegal and, as much as Fabian tried to push him to just do it anyway, he refused to do it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were some online alternatives, though, and while it didn’t have as much in terms of options, it would have to do. He wasn’t sure exactly what the posters should look like, so he pulled photos of pseudodragon turtles, which were, by the way, pretty hard to find, and layered them with photos of rock concerts before slapping some text over it with the date, time, and location.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’m ready to show Adaine,” he said proudly when he was finished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian looked up from his phone and made a face that seemed to show a level of disgust that Riz had never once seen from him before, and he was a guy that was not afraid to express disgust. “The Ball, what in the hells is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A poster” he replied slowly. “I wanted it to really show everything that the concert is about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never wanted to go to a concert less in my life than I do when I look at that poster,” he said. “You can’t even read the text. It just looks like a middle school graduation collage except instead of pictures of friends, it’s all turtles and drums. Some of those photos still have </span>
  <em>
    <span>watermarks</span>
  </em>
  <span> on them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He frowned. “Is it really that bad?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No offense, The Ball, but absolutely. You have many skills, primarily in the areas of being fast and sneaky, but it’s clear that graphic design simply isn’t one of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz groaned and put his head in his hands. “Adaine wanted me to have a design ready by the end of the night. She’s going to be mad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a poster,” Fabian reminded him, getting up and walking over so he was standing directly behind him. “Surely she understands that it doesn't actually matter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It matters,” he said with a shake of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian sighed heavily and reached over to put his hand on the mouse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz’s eyes widened at the closeness. He didn’t ask for this right now. He didn’t need to deal with this when he was supposed to be focusing on Fig and her concert. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to fix it for you,” he replied, clicking over to the top corner to delete everything that he’d spent the past hour working on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This doesn’t look fixed,” he said through gritted teeth. “It looks like the last thing I see before my best friend murders me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, stop being so </span>
  <em>
    <span>dramatic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, The Ball,” Fabian said, removing his arms from around him and walking around the side. “Now, get up. I’ll just design the posters for you since graphic design and general knowledge of what’s aesthetically pleasing are clearly not your strong suits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you’re trying to do something nice for me but, with the way you’re phrasing it, I’m not so sure,” he told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes. “Just get up and let me do it. If you’d like to pay me back, you can brainstorm a general menu for me so that I can bring it to Doreen tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, well, while Riz didn’t always consume the best kinds of meals at home, he knew that creating a list of snack-type food that they could sell was definitely going to be easier for him than working on the posters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Deal,” he said, hopping out of the chair so that Fabian could take over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian raised the desk chair and cracked his knuckles before getting to work, pulling up a browser window and immediately going to some sketchy looking website to illegally download something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fabian, that’s my computer. I really don’t want-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hush,” he said, throwing up a hand. “Let the master do his work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you’re a graphic design master.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the bar isn’t exactly high right now, is it? No offense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He crossed his arms and settled back onto his arms, grabbing a sticky note and starting to scribble down a list of foods and drinks that they could serve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every once in awhile, he looked up at Fabian distractedly, thinking about Fig’s words. Did he go out of his way that much to impress him? Hearing that his poster sucked certainly seemed to hurt more coming from Fabian than it would have coming from Adaine. If she told him that, he’d probably just tell her to do it herself and be done with it. He wouldn’t be sitting here and staring at the back of her head as if it would suddenly give him all the answers in the world even though her head very much was likely to give him more answers than Fabian’s, seeing as she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a divination wizard and all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew that the fact that he had been questioning it so much was probably the answer he needed. Riz probably did have feelings for Fabian and, thinking back, the way that he felt about him definitely wasn’t the same as how he felt about anyone that he had ever been friends with, nor did it feel familial in nature. He probably had a big, stupid crush on Fabian and, seeing as Fabian was an extremely cool dude, it was probably a one-way thing. Wouldn’t it just be easier to tell himself that he didn’t have a crush at all?</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Fabian’s posters looked like </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> nice. Riz hadn’t ever thought of him as somebody that was particularly creatively gifted, not that he thought that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> creative either, just average. Clearly, he had a hidden talent when it came to certain levels of artist vision that Riz hadn’t been aware of. Adaine had approved them and, after his shift the following day, Riz left with Adaine to run around town and advertise. He had tried to get Fig to come with, at least to tell Ayda about the show herself, but apparently, she had to spend every spare moment that she had between shifts practicing for her concert which was valid but also just kind of seemed like she was trying to get out of actually having to be there to invite her which was pretty ridiculous if you were to ask Riz. Then again, he was trying to force himself to not even think about the potential that he had feelings for Fabian, so he didn’t really have much in terms of ground to stand on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They pasted posters up on fence posts and on the sides of streetlights and gave stacks of flyers to any local establishments that would take them, stopping in Basrar’s for a brief treat because it was the best ice cream that Riz had ever had and somehow, despite having been here for quite a while, Adaine still hadn’t tried it. They both got vanilla shakes, without anyone to belittle them into getting something else, though he swore he saw a sliver of amusement in Basrar’s eyes when they ordered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really do like this place,” Adaine told him with a smile as they sat together in a booth. “I’ve always struggled with feeling like I belonged because of my dad and mum. Like I know I was born in Fallinel but we moved when I was quite small so my memories of it are very limited and I’ve never felt as connected to it as I probably should since it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> my home country. And then Elmville is nice and I’m happy to have the apartment there with Aelwyn and get to spend time with you but it’s also the town where I lived in that horrible house for most of my life and, I don’t know, everything about the apartment feels so temporary, like we’re just holding over until we can actually get a real home. Bayside is temporary too, I suppose, but I know that I’ll always have a place here, untainted by my parents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “And we don’t have a lot of friends in Elmville besides each other. Here, we have so many. I kind of want this summer to last forever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t want to go home, even though home is a lot better than it was when I was living with my mum and dad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I always was happy when it was just us back in Elmville,” he told her. “We get along super well and you’re my best friend in Spyre. But, after meeting all of these people, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to only having one friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded in agreement. “And it’s a bit like summer camp. You say that you’ll keep in touch but you never do. Your memories get lost in the film from a disposable camera that you never took in to get developed and, in a few years, you forget people’s names and faces.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He saw the truth in her words and felt a turning in his stomach because, before he had run into her here, he had barely thought about Penny since she moved away. He was probably going to lose her again, along with the rest of the maidens. And Ragh. And Tracker. Kristen, Fig, Gorgug. He didn’t think that he’d ever forget Fabian but, knowing that Fabian would forget about him in just a year or two, he kind of wished that he could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz pushed his milkshake away. “I don’t know if I’m hungry anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry. I think I might just be a bit anxious about summer ending,” she said with a sigh. “It’s pretty ridiculous, seeing as it’s nowhere near over yet. Still, I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure that I’ll ever forget this summer,” he told her. “I mean it’s been the most exciting few weeks of my life and some of the stuff we’ve done is absolutely insane. Like, we’re currently running around town and handing out flyers for a rock concert to benefit a species of turtle that I had never even heard of until I got here. Every other summer of my life has been absolutely nothing. I guess that I’m just more worried about people forgetting me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like you’ve been the only thing keeping people together all summer. I cannot fathom that they’d have an easier time forgetting you than you would them,” she replied. “It’s me that everyone will forget since I feel like I’ve either been working or in the library for most of the summer. I’ve felt like even less than the shitty wizard that couldn’t get into Hudol in terms of importance, which isn’t to say that I haven’t been having a good time. It’s just that the only person that will remember me when we leave other than you and my sister is Ayda.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, nobody could forget you, Adaine,” he assured her. “Your parents treated you like you weren’t important or significant but they were wrong. We’ve been past this a few times.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We really are a couple of self-deprecating losers, aren’t we?” she asked, taking another sip of her milkshake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed a bit at that. “Maybe we are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you ready to head to our next stop?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The library?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely,” he said with a smile. “It’ll be nice to see Ayda for the first time in a while. By the way, we need to make sure that she comes to the concert no matter what while still being subtle. I have no idea how to accomplish that task.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed. “Well, I suppose that we’ll have to figure it out, then.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The Compass Points wasn’t particularly far from Busrar’s which wasn’t super surprising since Bayside wasn’t exactly a sprawling metropolis. The only downside to this was Ayda’s strict anti-food policy meant that they had to trash their milkshakes before coming in. It was fine, though. He was almost done anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he walked into the library, the layout was entirely different from when he had visited last, which wasn’t that long ago. All the sections were different and it seemed that some of the shelves had been physically moved. The only constant was Rawlins sitting at the desk, fully asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine nudged him awake with mage hand. “Is Ayda around?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The mistress is here,” he replied. “Would you like me to call for her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head and walked up to him, holding out a small stack of flyers. “That’s alright. We’ll go back and find her. We just have a few flyers for a concert at the hotel on Friday and we were hoping you can distribute them to any visitors.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we don’t get much in terms of visitors besides you but I’ll be sure to give them to whoever passes by,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” she told him before weaving through the shelves toward the back of the library.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Has Ayda reorganized recently or am I going crazy?” he asked Adaine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “Three times, I believe. It’s been quite difficult to navigate, actually, since I never know exactly where anything is unless I ask her. She’s done it pretty much since she and Fig started getting closer and I’m not sure that she realizes that’s why, but I’m fairly certain it’s the reason. Even if it is a bit endearing, they’re ridiculous. Skirting around each other and never acknowledging their feelings is probably not the best way to go about having a crush but I can’t really comment on it because obviously, I’ve never had one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chewed at his lip for a moment, thankful that Adaine was walking in front of him and therefore couldn’t see his expression. “I guess it is a bit ridiculous. Like, if you really like someone just tell them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly!” Adaine exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. “I mean, you aren’t going to get anywhere if you keep it a secret. Forgo all the stupid subtlety. If the other person thinks you’re ‘coming on too strong’ then clearly they aren’t the person for you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean they could always change their mind,” he attempted to reason.</span>
</p><p><span>She shrugged. “I mean, then they’ll probably change their mind regardless, not just because you were cagey about how you feel.”</span><span><br/>
</span> <span>He froze for a moment. “Me?”</span></p><p>
  <span>“The figurative you,” she said, and he could practically hear her rolling her eyes when she knew he couldn’t even see. Maybe her living with Aelwyn had its disadvantages as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them continued through the library and ascended a spiral staircase that he wasn’t aware existed up into the library’s attic, which opened into a small study with doors branching off of it, clearly to other parts of this tiny apartment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ayda,” Adaine called out. “Are you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to a bedroom flew open and Ayda stepped out, regarding them with a nod. “Adaine, I didn’t know that you were coming for a visit today. And you’ve brought Riz up into my personal apartment without permission.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Adaine replied. “We just wanted to speak to you and I knew you’d be up here. I shouldn’t have brought him up here without an invitation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apology accepted,” she said. “Riz, you are my friend and you are now allowed to visit me in my study and use my bathroom if you don’t want to use the library bathroom instead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked around again and noted a desk scattered with books and notes as well as a bookshelf that seemed much finer than the ones downstairs. “I really like your apartment. It feels very cozy and lived in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes. I live in it,” she replied with an eyebrow raised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He means that he can tell that you spend a lot of time here working and that your work makes you happy,” Adaine clarified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, in that case, thank you,” she told him. “Now, the two of you needed to speak to me. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He handed her a flyer. “Fig is having a concert on Friday and you should come.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda looked at the flyer and frowned. “A concert to benefit the local pseudodragon turtle population? Why didn’t she invite me to this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why we’re here,” Adaine explained. “To invite you! We’re helping Fig prepare for the concert so we’ve been putting posters up and giving out flyers for local businesses to distribute. We wanted to come up here and invite you personally because we’re friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda’s hurt didn’t dissipate. “Fig asked people for assistance preparing for this concert but she didn’t ask me. And she hasn’t called or texted me to tell me about it. She just sent you two. Interesting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She flew back through the bedroom door and closed it behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she okay?” he quietly asked Adaine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No idea,” she whispered back. “I’ll speak with her more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine walked across the room and knocked on the door. “Ayda, are you alright in there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I went back into my bedroom and closed my door, I was attempting to signal that you should leave. Was that message not received?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was received but we’re your friends and we want to help you when you’re upset, not leave you to deal with it on your own,” she replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would prefer to be alone. I have some things to think about,” she told her. “I think I might move a few sections around downstairs. Tell Fig that I’m very sorry but I cannot attend her concert. If you think she cares.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> care,” Adaine insisted. “And if you don’t want to come because of her, that’s alright, but you should come for other reasons.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda opened the door and wiped the fiery tears from her eyes. “What are the reasons that you propose?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, firstly, the turtles, which is obvious. They need your help. Secondly, me. I tend to get quite anxious at group functions like this and I know that I’ll do better with another friend there,” she told her. “Finally, look at the poster. Who’s performing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fig and the Cig Figs,” she replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly,” Adaine said. “It’s not just Fig’s concert. Gorgug is going to be performing as well and I know that he would really appreciate your support there, even if he is busy practicing with their new guitarist right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda hesitated for a moment but nodded. “Alright, I’ll come. But not because of Fig. Only because Gorgug is the greatest wizard of our age and it would be idiotic to miss out on his first real musical endeavor. Also because of you and the turtles.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz smiled. “I can’t wait to see you there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you must,” she replied. “Because the concert isn’t until Friday. But you are always welcome to see me here unless, of course, I’m somewhere else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to keep advertising but I’ll stop by after work tomorrow,” Adaine promised her. “I need to work on that spell and I have a few more questions for you about pseudodragon turtles. Also, I’d also just like to come spend some time with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “Very well. I will see you soon. Riz, I will see you on Friday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They said their goodbyes and headed out of the library together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully, after Friday I won’t have to deal with them ignoring their feelings anymore,” Adaine said. “I don’t know how much more of it I can take. I hate that Ayda was in there crying because she doesn’t think Fig likes her when it’s so obvious that she does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I almost want to tell her but I’m too afraid of Fig,” he replied. “At this point, they’re just wasting their time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed. “Maybe it’s just easier for us to see because we’re on the outside of it. Clearly, they’re both not certain that the other likes them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope they figure it out soon,” he said with a sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least Riz knew that there was absolutely no way that Fabian liked him. He felt like the uncertainty would make this all so much worse, seeing as he still wasn’t sure if his feelings were genuine, if they were feelings that he was even allowed to have. He thought that this concert would be a welcome distraction from the feelings it initially prompted, but Fig and Ayda’s feelings for each other had only forced him to spend more time considering his own. Maybe if he threw himself even more into it, if he made himself so busy that he didn’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>time</span>
  </em>
  <span> to think about Fabian, he’d be able to fend them off at least until after Fig’s business was solved. That’s what he’d do. Surely, Adaine could find plenty of things to keep him occupied with in preparation for the concert. Everything was going to be fine.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Why are you ignoring me?” Fabian asked him on Thursday night, arms crossed over his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz’s eyes widened. When he decided that he’d make himself busy to ignore his feelings he hadn’t accounted for the fact that what he was really doing, at least in part, was ignoring </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fabian</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Especially after torturing himself so much when Fabian was ignoring him. Gods, he was a terrible friend. Feelings or not, hurting Fabian was absolutely the last thing that he wanted to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t ignoring you,” he lied. “I’ve just been super busy preparing for the concert. You know how it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian didn’t buy it. “Ignoring me and lying to me. Unless you’re throwing me a surprise party when it’s nowhere near my birthday, I’m not buying it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know it’s not my fault,” he said. “It’s your fault and I want to know why you’re doing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed. “Fig said something to me the other day and it made me super confused about myself so I’ve been keeping myself busy so that I don’t have to think about it. Because I’ve been making myself so busy, I’ve been inadvertently ignoring you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have feelings for Fig?” he asked. “I hate to tell you this, The Ball, but I’m fairly certain that she’s interested in somebody else. Best to cut your losses now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wrinkled his nose. “I do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> have feelings for Fig. It was just something that she said to me. I don’t really want to get into the specifics of it because it’s kind of personal. I haven’t even talked to Adaine about it and she’s my best friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fabian opened his mouth to say something but closed it and nodded. “Alright. As much as my curiosity is piqued, you deserve to have your privacy. Just don’t ignore me anymore, please. I enjoy having you as a friend and, given how I fucked up before, I wanted to be certain that we’re still okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course we’re okay, Fabian,” he promised him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In that case, can I tell you about the day that I’ve had?” he asked. “I’ll give you a hint: it involves three plates of chicken alfredo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled. “Tell me today’s Harpy dinner shift horror story.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Fabian launched into his story, which was just as horrifying as he had imagined, it became clear to Riz that there was going to be no ignoring his feelings without ignoring his friend and, at that point, it simply wasn’t worth it. If not having to deal with his feelings meant that he couldn’t hear Fabian do something as simple as rant about his day at work, he was just going to have to stop ignoring them. Maybe he liked Fabian, maybe he didn’t. He didn’t need to think too deeply about that part but he needed to allow the possibility to float in the back of his mind. If it was real it was a stupid crush. Their friendship was more important than that could ever be, so he was simply going to have to prioritize that over anything else. And that was going to need to be okay.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Fig and the Cig Figs had a few online followers, mostly people who had been through the resort before and had seen them play, but it definitely didn’t lead Riz to expect anything like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He had never seen the Harpy this crowded all summer and Gorgug had informed him that they’d gotten a bunch of last-minute check-ins which meant that people had truly come from all over to see Fig and the Cig Figs, a band that barely had any renown whatsoever. Hells, they hadn’t even had a guitarist until less than a week ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most of the crowd were teenagers that reminded him of Fig, with pierced eyebrows and leather jackets and dyed hair. There were also a few guests and then, of course, all the people that they had invited.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz, who was generally uncomfortable around strangers his own age, especially strangers as intimidating as these, opted for spending some time chatting with the parents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re just so proud of him!” said Gorgug’s dad. “Seems like just the other day he was just about this high-” He lifted his hand up about five inches above his own head. “And now our little boy is a drummer in a rock band!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve always incorporated singing into our house so it’s very exciting to see that he’s become so passionate about music,” his mom added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fig’s mom, who was standing on their left, was just staring at the stage and tapping her foot impatiently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m quite proud of my daughter as well,” said Fig’s adoptive father, Gilear, who was standing on their other side and clearly ignoring her mom. “She’s really come into her own and I do enjoy seeing her so dedicated to something that’s not just pure teenage rebellion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She still does plenty of that,” he told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Gilear said with a smile. “If she wasn’t being at least a little rebellious, I would be concerned.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would enjoy the break,” her mom said, without looking at him. “But I do love her, rebellious or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ayda, you can’t leave now!” he heard Adaine protest from across the room. “You haven’t even heard them play!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz’s eyes widened. “Shit. I need to go. Wait, fuck, I shouldn’t be swearing in front of parents. I mean-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The parents just laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gorgug’s mom briefly squeezed his shoulder. “Go help out your friend. It was really nice to meet you, kiddo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice to meet you too Mr. and Mrs. Thistlespring and Mr. and Mrs. Faeth,” he told him, ignoring the brief alarmed look that Fig’s parents shared before he raced off after Adaine and Ayda.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ayda was trying to make her way out the door and Adaine was tugging on her arm, which was clearly making Ayda feel more overwhelmed than she already seemed to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t touch me,” she requested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just stay for a song!” Adaine insisted, clearly on the brink of an anxiety attack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riz ran up and squeezed her shoulder. “Adaine, let go. It’ll be alright.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded and shakily released Ayda’s arm. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you really need to stay Ayda.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-” she shook her head. “There are far too many people here and they’re all too close together. I don’t want to be touched by strangers. Tell Gorgug and Fig that I hope their show went well but I could not stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ayda, wait,” he called after her. “Fig really wants you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fig wasn’t even the person that came and invited me,” she reminded him. “Fig hasn’t spoken with me all week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She has a reason,” Adaine insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Ayda replied. “The reason is that I am horrible to be around. Goodbye.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She spread her wings as if to fly away, even though they were inside. Still, it gave him an idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if you were to sit up on one of the posts that hold up the restaurant,” he suggested. “Then you don’t have to worry about touching anybody since most of these people probably don’t fly like you do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Riz, the posts don’t hold up the restaurant, the architect simply added them for aesthetic purposes,” she told him. “But that does sound more agreeable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fig doesn’t think that you’re horrible to be around,” Adaine promised her. “You’ll know that if you just stay and listen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded in agreement. “I think that you’ll enjoy it a lot more than you think you will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She closed her eyes for a moment but nodded. “I’ll stay for a song.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adaine glanced at her watch. “Fantastic. We should get inside now, though. They’re due to start any moment now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They went inside together, Ayda flying up and finding a good perch while Riz and Adaine found a nice place to stand against the wall, her arm slung casually over his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You planned all this really well,” he told her. “Just look at it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was truly outstanding, people mingling and getting to know each other before the show even started. Sam and Aelwyn were standing hand and hand, chatting with another couple. The rest of the maidens were all huddled together and chatting excitedly, Penny already perched on Katja’s shoulders. Tracker and Kristen had muscled their way to the front, though Kristen had gotten a black eye in the process, and were dancing to the music that they were playing before the concert began. Ragh and Fabian were hanging out by the concession stand, eating soft pretzels and chatting with a few girls around their age that were definitely hotel guests. And, well, if he was a little jealous of Fabian talking to a group of girls, which he probably </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he didn’t have any time to dwell on it because the lights went down and the music shut off before a quick riff on the bass quieted everyone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The spotlights that Adaine had rented out opened on Fig, Gorthalax, and Gorgug. Fig looked cooler than he’d ever seen her with thick black eye makeup, spiky platform boots, and a white shirt that was riddled with intentional holes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Fig and we’re Fig and the Cig Figs,” she announced, earning raucous applause. “We’re really excited to play for you tonight! This entire show, while being to benefit the turtles, is dedicated to a very special girl. This song is for you, Ayda Aguefort. This is “From Ashes”.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They launched into the song, playing together as if they had been doing it for years. Riz had heard most of Fig’s songs since he lived with her and worked in the restaurant but this one, this was something new. She played with a passion that he’d never seen before. It was beautiful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spared a glance back at Ayda, whose fiery eyes were staring at the stage in pure admiration. Riz had never thought that Ayda would be one who needed big declarations of love and she probably wasn’t but this one, this one was perfect. It was Fig sharing all the things that she was passionate about with the person she cared for the most. Seeing it unfold was truly an amazing sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wondered if he could ever have a moment like this with Fabian but attempted to force that thought from his mind. This moment was about Fig and Ayda. Not his confusing feelings for his friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, when he glanced back to where Fabian and Ragh had been standing, his eyes immediately locked with Fabian’s. Had he been looking too?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that it mattered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except it did matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. the jewel thief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>me updating summer's on after 5 months of nothing because one of the d20 alphabet prompts is b for beach? more likely than you think. anyway this chapter has been extremely close to done since September and here it finally is<br/>please check out <a href="https://dimension20alphabet.tumblr.com/">dimension20alphabet</a> and participate if you want!<br/><a href="http://adaine.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/gainglynn">twitter</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>One of the better things about being a private investigator was that, when one case didn’t end up giving you the answer you preferred, there usually was one directly behind it. It was pretty unfortunate to him that it seemed there was no new case in sight to distract him from the fact that he did, in fact, have feelings for Fabian that he wasn’t going to be able to ignore no matter how hard he tried. Whether Fabian liked him back was another mystery entirely and not really one that he wanted to solve. After all, if he never figured it out then he was never going to have to deal with the rejection that would probably come with it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, that case was still poking endlessly at the back of his mind simply because he had no other cases to solve. He was away from the office and his reputation in Bayside wasn’t exactly as strong as in Elmville. He really missed the work that came with being home, even if most of his cases there revolved completely around infidelity, a topic which he didn’t particularly enjoy investigating because, more often than not, nobody got an answer that made them happy. It always ended in the partner having cheated after all or them having not cheated at all, which calls the level of trust in the relationship into question entirely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This case was going to be a lose-lose situation as well. Either he got the result that he expected and his feelings for Fabian were entirely one-sided or Fabian did like him back and would surely not continue to feel that way after he found out that Riz was </span>
  <em>
    <span>investigating</span>
  </em>
  <span> him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily, this didn’t turn out to be one of those times where he sat too long without a case because, just a few days after the concert, one came in the form of a literal knock on his bedroom door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to get that?” Fabian asked without looking up from his crystal even though his bed was on the side of the room closer to the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” he started, shaking his head. “Yeah, I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jumped out of his bed and headed across the room and opened the door only to find an older halfling woman standing on the other side wearing the uniform of the Seacaster Resort housekeeping department.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard shuffling on the bed behind him. “Cathilda?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz stepped aside to let her in, as Fabian was clearly familiar with her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hello, Master Fabian,” she said with a smile. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you since you moved in here. How have you been?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m pretty good. Busy. I miss having you around. Cleaning up after myself is incredibly time-consuming,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She just laughed. “Oh, I’m sure it is. But learning to clean up after yourself is part of growing up and I’m glad to see you make that journey. Maybe one day we can help your mother to do the same.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are you here?” he asked her. “I didn’t know that maids were allowed to leave the hotel except to clean the townhouses.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fabian, Adaine is literally part of the housekeeping staff,” he reminded him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Adaine </span>
  <em>
    <span>works</span>
  </em>
  <span> as a maid,” he clarified. “Cathilda is a maid. She has been since like forever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve actually been other things before I was a maid,” she told him. “And I may live in the hotel, but I’m free to go wherever I wish. I do choose to spend most of my time at home, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you just stop by to say hello?” Fabian asked. “Because if you’re here to beg me to come back to the penthouse, I’m afraid that I’ll have to decline. I think I need to spend the rest of the summer here. I hope that you understand. Though, if you’ve come to deliver some kippers to me, I would be unable to decline that offer at the very least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“While I’m pleased to have gotten the opportunity to talk with you this afternoon and I do miss you quite dearly, I haven’t come to bring you kippers, beg you to return home, or even just say hello,” she told him. “I’ve actually come to have a conversation with your friend here. A chance to see you was just a very happy accident.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re here to speak with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Riz?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As it happens, I seem to be in the market for a detective and I hear that he’s the best in town. And I only get my information from the very best of sources,” she said, winking slyly at Fabian.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“May I ask why you need his services?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Unfortunately, this is a situation in which discretion is important, at least for the time being. And, while I love you very much, Master Fabian, you’ve never been one for keeping secrets.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can keep a secret,” he pouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I don’t doubt that you can,” she replied. “I just don’t think that it’s something that you enjoy doing, which is really a testament to the kind of person that you are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One who spoils things?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “One that values honesty where it’s due.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded with a slight smile. “Well, I’ll leave the two of you to chat then. I need to go help Katja prepare dinner anyway. Should I set you a plate, Cathilda? I believe Danielle and Ostentatia are going to be eating with us as well tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cathilda shook her head. “I really do appreciate the offer, but I’ve already made plans to have supper with your mother tonight. She’s been a bit lonely with your father away on business and you living here. You should meet her for lunch sometime. I think that she would really appreciate a moment or so of your company.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be sure to arrange that with her. Thank you, Cathilda,” he said, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cathilda let out a happy sigh. “I know that he can come off a bit harshly at first, but he really is a wonderful boy, isn’t he?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He is,” Riz agreed. “He really is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned around and clapped her hands together. “So you’re Riz Gukgak, the wildly intelligent private investigator that I’ve heard so much about.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess,” he said with a nod. “Did Adaine tell you about me? Best friends or not, I’m surprised she’d exaggerate my competence so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cathilda raised an eyebrow. “No, it was Fabian that told me about you. I’ve seen him far less than I usually do, what with him living here now, but when we do talk, he tells me all about the wonderful friends that he’s made here. He’s been singing your praises since the day he moved in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz nodded toward the door, a bit taken aback. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> Fabian?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you know another Fabian that I’d be talking to?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s just that I didn’t think he’d say that about me,” he said with a shrug. “Especially since our friendship had a bit of a rocky start.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s always spoken highly of you,” she told him. “Even if it’s something that he doesn’t always say outright.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She clapped him on the shoulder. “Now, I should probably get to the case so I’m on time for my dinner with Hallariel. I hope that you’re willing to take something on right now on top of your work at the Harpy and that you’re okay with it being something that needs to be concealed from the management at Seacaster Resort.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I think that it will all depend on what’s going on,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How much would you be willing to risk to help a friend who really needed it?” she asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d take any case that I could to help them,” he admitted. “Even if it put myself at risk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” she replied with a warm smile. “Then I suppose that I should get out with it: Ostentatia is going to be fired when she comes into work tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened. Ostentatia put on the attitude of someone who was above it all and didn’t really care what happened but, from everything that Adaine had told him about her experiences working with her, she was somebody who dedicated a lot to her work. And, while he didn’t know a ton about Ostentatia’s home situation, he did know that she send a good chunk of her paycheck back home to her family which meant that she probably couldn’t really afford to lose her job.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This hasn’t been spread among the employees so I’d appreciate it if you kept it on the down-low until everything has been cleared up but a few guests have been reporting some of their things going missing here and there since the summer began. It’s begun to ramp up as of late. We’ve been getting more and more reports of more valuable things going missing. It’s a bit of an issue because having things stolen is very bad press for the hotel, especially if the police become involved, and Master Seacaster is off trying to make business deals to expand everything we have here. He can’t do that if we start losing guests, I hope you understand that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what does this have to do with Ostentatia?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just a few days ago, a very important guest reported a missing diamond necklace and said that, if it wasn’t recovered, she was going to get in contact with local authorities and have them find it for her,” she told him. “The very next day, I discovered the diamond necklace in question half-hidden in her cleaning cart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you don’t think she did it,” he inferred.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cathilda shook her head. “She cried and told me that she hadn’t taken it and, well, I’m inclined to believe her. The timing of it is a bit suspicious, isn’t it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But the necklace was inside her cart,” he replied. “That’s some pretty damning evidence if you ask me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goldenhoard and Aguefort are inclined to agree with that sentiment, especially considering that Ostentatia enjoys wearing gaudy jewelry, but they don’t know her as well as I do,” she said. “You know her as well, at least a little bit. You’ve been working with her all summer and living with her friends. Do you honestly think that Ostentatia is the type of person to steal something from a guest?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And, well, that was a complicated question. He hadn’t really interacted with Ostentatia as much as he had with the other maidens. She lived off-site which meant that she didn’t spend as much time around the house as the others except for the occasional staff dinner. And housekeeping generally did their work without much interaction with other departments or even each other unless they were cleaning a room together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Riz knew Penny and he knew that she would trust Ostentatia with absolutely anything. Maybe it was naïve of him to base his opinion of her off of that of another, but he trusted Penny’s judgment entirely and, if she would choose Ostentatia Wallace to be one of her best friends in the world, that was all that he really needed to know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you think she might have been framed,” he said with a nod, considering the possibility of it. “But who would frame Ostentatia? And, more importantly, why? What would someone have to gain from framing a teenage housekeeper for thievery? Avoiding a full investigation is understandable, but how would they even know that things were going missing in the first place?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, from everything that you’ve told me about the situation, it seems that management has been trying to keep all of this under wraps,” he explained. “So, if someone knew about the items going missing, then they’re probably a manager. I’m going to need a list of everyone who knew this was happening.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was just Aguefort, Goldenhoard, and I,” she said with a shake of her head. “Arthur is quite chaotic but I don’t think that he would involve himself in this sort of thing, especially since it’s a bit menial for him. And Goldenhoard would go down with the hotel if it were to be discovered: that’s why he was pushing for an investigation.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you wouldn’t be here asking me to investigate if you were the culprit,” he added, scratching his chin. “Unless one of you spread news of the incident or the guest in question was involved, the motive for framing Ostentatia remains unclear. I think that I’m going to have to poke my nose around a bit and get some more information about why someone might want to do this to her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’ll take the case?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded. “Of course, and pro bono. Ostentatia is a friend. I’m going to help her any way that I can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I knew that what Fabian saw in you must be true,” she said with a smile. “Intelligent and kind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt the blood rush to his cheeks. “Yes, well, yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I understand that you’ll need to spread word of the case eventually to get the information that you need,” she said, moving past her previous comment. “But I ask that you’re cautious about who you share this with and that you leave my name out of it. Goldenhoard seems content with firing Ostentatia and having it over with. If he knew that I was continuing to poke around after the case was supposedly closed, my job may not be long for the world, as close as I am to the Seacaster family. And police involvement would be an inevitability if word spread too far.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should I warn Ostentatia?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Best to not, I think. I’ve got a meeting set up with her tomorrow morning. I can break the news to her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was going to make dinner a bit complicated but he could manage to keep the secret for one night, he supposed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll get to work as soon as possible,” he promised her. “I do need to warn you of something, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it, dear?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sometimes the truth doesn’t line up with our hopes,” he said. “If I go through with this investigation and it turns out that Ostentatia did steal all those things after all, then I really need you to understand that this isn’t my fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled warmly. “I understand that. And, while I truly hope and believe that she’s innocent, I’m far enough along in my years that I can cope with being wrong. Some truths can be more hurtful than lies. That doesn’t make discovering them any less important.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinner that night was, unsurprisingly, not the easiest meal that Riz had ever sat through. He was sort of avoiding Ostentatia and Danielle because of the information that he knew could hurt them a lot. The easiest way to do this was to focus on something other than her case but it was fresh in his mind and the alternative was thinking about his feelings for Fabian, so he settled for trying to focus on the absolutely insane story that Kristen was telling them about her experiences at a Helioic church camp, complete with an inordinate amount of tangents that couldn’t quite keep his attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem a bit distracted,” Adaine noted quietly from the seat beside him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Just thinking, I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“About what?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing really,” he lied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine made a face. “When did you start keeping secrets from me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I never did. It’s just- we’re at </span>
  <em>
    <span>dinner</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’ll tell me afterward?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His silence seemed to be enough of an answer for her because she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair a little. “I suppose Ayda is my best friend now, seeing as she doesn’t hide things from me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe she does but she’s just really good at it,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>teasing </span>
  </em>
  <span>me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A little,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll tell you but not until tomorrow. I want your help with this anyway. It’s a case if that is the answer that you wanted from me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that why Cathilda was here?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded. “Yes, but please don’t tell anyone that her visiting is related to what we’re going to investigate. I promised that I would leave her out of it as best as I could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tomorrow, then,” she said with a nod. “Is that all?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If there’s something going on, something that’s not a case, you can always talk to me about it,” she told him. “My ears are always open.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did she somehow know? But she couldn’t. It’s not like he had talked to her about it at all. As far as she knew, he was aroace, just like she was. There was no way that she knew that he wasn’t when he still hadn’t 100% figured out how to define his sexuality yet. As far as he was concerned, that definition still fit him in most ways. Maybe she could just tell that something was up with him in general. Yeah, that was probably it. Still, he didn’t want to lie to her again and say outright that there wasn’t anything happening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll keep it in mind,” he said instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you guys listening?” Kristen asked loudly. “We’re just getting to the best part.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine laughed. “We’re all ears.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe he could tell Adaine at some point. Soon. Just not yet.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>As all good investigations did, this one began with an assessment of the facts, his opinions and those of others aside. Character testimonies were important to some extent, but he needed to start his investigation with a clean slate, a board of undeniable truths and then draw some conclusions alongside them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fact: this wasn’t the first time that things had gone missing from the bedrooms of guests. These thefts had been happening over the course of the summer and had increased recently. (Why the increase now? There were still more than a few weeks of the summer season remaining.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fact: this was, seemingly, the first guest to really kick up a fit about it if they were only starting to consider a large-scale internal investigation now. (Potentially could mean that other guests were paid off or compensated in return for stolen goods? And how many guests didn’t even notice that their things had gone missing?)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fact: the missing item in question was a real diamond necklace valued at 15 platinum, market value. (If the thief were to steal this item from a room and expect no investigation, then it was likely that they grabbed the first thing that looked valuable without much thought and knew very little about the value of jewelry.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fact: the diamond necklace was found in the cart of housekeeper Ostentatia Wallace, which she would have been attending to the entire day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fact: Ostentatia Wallace is a summer employee, placing the start of her employment for the year near the time that the thievery began. She also worked at Seacaster Resort prior to this year, when similar thievery was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> reported.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fact: Ostentatia is known to wear a lot of gaudy jewelry and seems to enjoy finery.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He cringed as he wrote his final fact, well aware that it was none of his business whatsoever but was important to the case nonetheless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fact: Ostentatia sends a portion of her paycheck home to her family each month, indicating likely financial hardships. (</span>
  <em>
    <span>MOTIVE</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door to his door slammed open as he was standing back and pondering the information on his board, revealing none other than Ostentatia herself, who was red in the eyes. It seemed likely that the news had just been broken to her and she was crying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took one look at the board and her face contorted from an expression of desperate sadness to one of pure anger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was going to ask you for help,” she said between gritted teeth. “But it looks like your decision has already been made. I guess I shouldn’t bother. Where did you even hear about this anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My sources are confidential,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t think Goldenhoard would stoop so low as to hire you to do his dirty work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“First of all, what dirty work? The necklace was found </span>
  <em>
    <span>inside your cart</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he snapped. “Second of all, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>stoop so low</span>
  </em>
  <span>”? Did you not just barge in here to hire me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, yeah,” she replied. “But, just as you noted on your stupid fucking board, I don’t have any money. Especially now that I’m unemployed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, lucky for you, I’m already on your case pro bono,” he told her. “This is only the first step of my investigation. I’m laying out the facts without personal bias or the opinions of others. And, yeah, it doesn’t look too pretty for you but I think that you’re already more than aware of how it looks. I am too and the fact that I’m still on this case should tell you something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That you’re only doing this out of a sense of duty to Penny?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he replied. “It should tell you that, despite all of this, I still think that you’re innocent. So, why don’t you take a seat so that I can ask a few questions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sat down on Fabian’s bed, arms still crossed. “I didn’t do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wasn’t what I was going to ask you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, the bracelet was in my cart. No, I didn’t really leave my cart unattended so far as I can remember. Someone must have slipped it in when walking by,” she said. “Or maybe it was planted there by someone with access to the custodial closets after my shift ended. You better not be ruling Adaine out just because she’s your best friend, by the way. Her access should make her a suspect, even if I don’t think she’d do that to me. Or in general.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a nod. “Now, do you think that there’s anybody around the hotel that would have wanted to frame you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged. “I mean, it was probably some kids playing a joke or something. I don’t really have any enemies at the resort or anything. I mean, I don’t get along super well with Penelope or Dayne but they checked out and lack the access anyway. The only other person I can think of is Skrank, I guess, but he doesn’t really have the guts for that sort of thing. Manipulating women, sure, but not stealing from guests.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz furrowed his brows. “Skrank?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The name sounded familiar. He didn’t think that it was somebody who he had met personally but it was definitely a name that he had heard before somewhere and it certainly wasn’t a popular enough name for his vague memory of it to be mere coincidence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ve never heard the story of all of last summer’s drama?” she asked. “It’s actually why Danielle and I decided to get an apartment in town instead of living in the staff house.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nobody’s told me anything about that,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Figures,” she said with a nod. “It’s still somewhat of a sore subject for some of the girls, which is wild to me because it affected me more than anyone else and I’m totally over it by now. Basically, Skrank is one of the guys that works over in IT with Biz. Last summer, we dated for a while but eventually, he cheated on me with Danielle which almost tore our entire friend group apart until me and her talked things out and, well, eventually we realized that he was the piece of shit, especially after he started flirting with Zelda who’s like your age and therefore definitely too young for him. We decided that our friendship was more important than a stupid fucking boy. It was only in the past few months that our friendship turned into something more. We were slightly afraid that he would harass us if we stayed in the house so we decided that it was best to live elsewhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you expected retaliation from him?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I guess, yeah,” she replied. “But like in the form of leaving vaguely threatening notes by our beds or some shit. I don’t think he would </span>
  <em>
    <span>rob</span>
  </em>
  <span> somebody.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Even if it would get you fired? Because, if I were to guess, I would say that you getting fired means that you can’t pay for the apartment, which means that you have to go home and Danielle needs to move back into the staff house, where he can make a move again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She blinked for a moment. “I didn’t think of that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll have to ask him a few questions when I get a chance,” he said, jotting down a note to do that later and sticking it on an empty spot on his board.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I honestly don’t think he’s smart enough to come up with that kind of shit,” she told him. “But you can give it a try.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, he’s smart enough to work as an IT guy at a major resort as a teenager,” he pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but he’s pretty fucking stupid about everything that doesn’t have to do with computers. Except for romance, unfortunately.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think that he’d have any reasons to start stealing items to begin with?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “I mean, it was a one-off thing, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he gestured toward his board. “Things have been going missing all summer, actually. I thought you read my board when you came in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I saw the bit speculating on my family’s financial situation and I almost multiclassed into a barbarian,” she replied, that spark of anger briefly returning to her face. “So, they decided to convict me without checking for any of the other missing items? What even has been going missing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I probably should have asked my source more about that. I can return to them or ask someone else and try to get more information.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you probably shouldn’t trust them either,” she told him. “This hotel was literally founded on the treasure trove of a pirate. Some of the management is a bit shifty. I mean, your supervisor is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Doreen</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She’s been stealing food out of the kitchen since she started working here solely because she doesn’t feel like cooking. And Porter is the guy in charge of recreation. I’ve never really had any issue with him in the minimal interaction that I’ve had with him but Fig very vocally does not trust him at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She doesn’t work with him either,” he reminded her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And yet she doesn’t trust him at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll look into it,” he said with a nod. “And I’ll ask Ragh and Sam what they think about Porter since they’re the ones who are actually working with him. I’m not really going to consider Doreen as a serious suspect, seeing as the only time she leaves her office is to go home. She even smokes in there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have any other questions for me or can I go home?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He grabbed a picture of the necklace off his board and then flipped the entire board around so that she couldn’t see. “How much do you think this is worth?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She studied the photo for a second. “Gods, it has to be in the range of like 10 to 15 platinum. It’s a really nice piece. The knockoffs sell for a pretty penny too and they don’t even have any real diamonds in them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>is what was stolen? Cathilda never told me when she said that she’d found it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, clearly whoever stole this had no idea what they were doing,” she told him. “My guess is that it was just someone random and they pawned it on me once they saw how much it was actually worth so that they wouldn’t get caught, especially if there was other stuff that had been stolen in the past.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He scribbled a note about that down. “Perfect. Thanks for your time. I’ll start questioning people as soon as I can. But I’m working the dinner shift tonight so that will have to wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ostentatia looked at him hesitantly for a moment and then stepped forward, wrapping him in a tight hug. “Thank you for this, Riz. It’s nice to have someone that believes in me when everything looks so bad. Gods, I’m half-convinced that even Danielle thinks I might have done it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll find the truth,” he promised her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he watched her walk out the door with the faintest of smiles on his face, he really hoped that his promise would be one that he was able to keep.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>His next stop was to go talk to IT but first, he had to keep a promise and tell Adaine a little bit about what was going on, so he cornered her after he got off work that night, luckily catching her before she left for the library.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cathilda told you Ostentatia was going to be fired and asked you to investigate further,” she guessed before he even opened his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We think that she might have been framed,” he told her. “The evidence is there but it just seems off, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. “I agree. I’ve been working with Ostentatia all summer. Hells, she was the one who trained me. She wouldn’t steal from a guest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She knew generally how much the necklace was worth,” he told her. “It’s quite a lot, far too much for someone to steal without it being noticed and investigated. Her guess is that somebody tossed in her cart when they realized that they were in over their head.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re not so sure,” she surmised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have no idea what I think yet,” he admitted. “I mean, whoever has been stealing things this summer must have a way to regularly access the rooms. Whoever it is, they probably know her personally. I’m not super convinced that it would be just a random person. I mean, they always could have just put the necklace back where they found it instead of dragging somebody else down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, other things have been stolen?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded. “All summer long, apparently. Which could be used to pin this on Ostentatia but there’s also just a lot more traffic for the hotel during the summer, so I’m taking that with a grain of salt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, then you need to find the other things,” she told him. “Sure, they’re probably smaller things but, if there’s a lot of them, they either need to be somewhere or there’s some record of them being sold. You need to generate a list of what else has been stolen and then check out local thrift shops and online markets.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He scratched his chin. “That’s definitely a solid approach. I’ve been too focused on people and potential motives that I didn’t pause to consider that there could be a paper trail. Gods, Bayside is turning me soft.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine snorted. “This investigation has barely started. Just because you aren’t doing everything at once while also working another job doesn’t mean that you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>turning soft</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Maybe you’re turning dramatic, but that’s because of Fabian, not Bayside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And this investigation needs to go fast,” he said. “I mean, Ostentatia can’t exactly afford to live here without a job for very long.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can get the list from Cathilda if you’d like,” Adaine offered. “I know that she probably wanted to be left out of it as much as possible but I can speak to her without arousing any suspicion, seeing as she’s my supervisor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would be great,” he said with a nod. “That gives me some time to head down to IT before business hours end.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you pulling video data?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “The hotel only has cameras in the lobby area so unless the necklace was planted right there, it’s a waste of time. And I find that possibility to be highly unlikely, seeing as it’s such a high traffic area and that Ostentatia doesn’t really spend a lot of time there, so it wouldn’t be a place her cart spent any time in except in passing. I’m going to ask one of the employees a few questions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her expression darkened. “Biz. I always knew he was the ultimate evil but I always suspected it to be a relatively harmless evil.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m actually going to talk to Skrank,” he corrected. “Ostentatia and Danielle both dated him last summer, so I think he would have a potential motive to frame her for thievery.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, good luck then,” she told him. “I’ll get the list of items as quickly as I can without drawing any eyes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he told her. “I do enjoy having you as an investigative partner. I feel like it’s been a long time since we’ve done this sort of thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled. “I enjoy it as well. I do appreciate a good mystery every once in a while, though I’m not pleased that one of our friends being fired for something she was innocent of is the root of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll help her,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We sure will.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The IT office in the basement of the hotel had looked small when it was only Biz working inside. Now, watching a bigger tortle person hunched over a monitor and taking up a good chunk of the room, he wondered how the three-person IT crew managed to be in such a cramped place for so much of the day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello,” Riz greeted, politely knocking on the doorframe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guy looked up at him slowly. “Do I, like, know you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “My name is Riz and I work upstairs in the Harpy. I’ve collaborated on a project with Biz before, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Biz and Skrank are out at the villas,” he replied. “They’re having a WiFi problem so they’re checking out some of the routers. I’m guessing they’ll be back soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you must be Shellford,” he inferred.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shellford rolled his eyes but nodded. “Go for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does IT have access to all the rooms or do you need to get hard keys issued for maintenance?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hard keys mostly,” he replied. “I mean, usually if there’s a tech issue there’s already a guest inside the room since they would have made the report but if they aren’t around or something is reported in an empty room, we check out hard keys from the desk. Biz has access to the room key software since he wrote it but it’s too much of a security risk to share with just anybody.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was there any maintenance scheduled in room 536 over the past week?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shellford shook his head without even checking. “We’ve mostly just been having issues with the villas lately. They’ve had a few power outages, very short ones, and it resets the routers which sometimes screws everything up. I’m just lucky that I didn’t get dragged all the way out there today. The only other room we’ve been in this week is 822.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, that didn’t bode well for the Skrank theory. Without even talking to him, he knew that he didn’t really have the means to get into the rooms unassisted. Still, he couldn’t rule it out entirely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Power outages?” he asked instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shellford shrugged. “I mean, we don’t really know why but that’s more of a job for an electrician than for IT. We don’t like have access to the electrical grid or anything. It hasn’t been a major problem yet though, seeing as management hasn’t bothered to get it fixed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Riz!” shouted a nasally voice from behind him. “What brings you here to our humble abode?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to find Biz fluttering in through the doorway, a red-feathered aarakocra walking in behind him with a briefcase in hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I actually came to speak with Skrank,” he said, turning toward the teen in question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised a feathery eyebrow. “Me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz nodded. “It’ll be really quick.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, what is it?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to-” Riz nodded toward the hallway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m fine,” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed. “I just wanted to ask you about Ostentatia.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, she’s a really good kisser but I think she’s a lesbian now,” he replied. “So is Danielle, I guess, and she was the prettier one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fairly certain that both of them are bi,” he corrected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skrank shook his head. “That can’t be true. If they were into men, I would still be dating both of them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He really is quite the ladies’ man,” Biz piped in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz wanted to punch everyone in this office. Well, maybe not Shellford. He hadn’t really done anything except look like he was done with everything on an existential level. If he spent all day in this tiny room with these guys, he really couldn’t blame him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ostentatia was fired this morning,” he told him. “Were you aware of that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened. “Really? Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They found an expensive item belonging to one of the guests in her cart,” he explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that doesn’t sound like Ostentatia,” Skrank said. “She likes shiny stuff but that’s only because she has to work hard to get it for herself. Most of what she has are knockoffs anyway, between you and me. Her family isn’t exactly rolling in it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe that’s why she tried to steal the necklace,” Biz pointed out. “If she could pawn off something expensive then her family wouldn’t have to struggle financially anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think that she might have been framed,” he told them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I hate to break it to you but there aren’t any cameras in the hallways,” Biz told him. “Me and Goldenhoard have been trying to get some installed for what feels like forever but Bill Seacaster keeps shooting us down because he says it’s snitch behavior. Well, Mr. Seacaster, perhaps we </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> some snitch behavior in times like these.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shellford rolled his eyes. “He’s obviously here because he thinks that Skrank was the one who did it. He was just asking me if we accessed that room at all last week and whether we could access the keycard software.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skrank looked at him with almost comically large eyes. “Is that true?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m covering all bases and I thought that you might have had a motive because of your breakup,” he explained. “But after speaking with you all, I seriously doubt it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does Ostentatia think I did it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “She said that she didn’t think that you would steal from a guest or anything of the sort. This visit was purely part of my investigative process.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a detective?” Biz asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, a private one,” he replied. “I’m taking on Ostentatia’s case for free. Just trying to help out a friend, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t know if this investigation is a great idea,” he warned. “If someone would really go so far as to frame Ostentatia for this crime so that she gets fired, I don’t think they would hesitate to do something similar to you if they discovered that you were trying to catch them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a risk that I have to take,” he said with a shrug. “As a detective, I can’t stand by and watch my friend get fired for a crime that I very much believe she didn’t commit. I’m going to find whoever did this to her, even if it means the end of a fruitful career as a waiter in a hotel restaurant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just a warning,” Biz said with a shrug. “You seem like a really cool guy, Riz. I wouldn’t mind having you on the IT team next summer. I really just don’t want to see you go down for something that doesn’t even involve you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you join our team then they might upgrade us to a bigger room,” Shellford added, showing a rare glimpse of hope. “Maybe even one that isn’t in the basement.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unlikely,” Skrank said with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what I’m doing,” he promised him. “And when I figure this thing out, I’m sure Goldenhoard will be at least somewhat thankful since I’m solving his problem for free without bringing in any negative press.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, good luck then,” Biz said with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he said, saying a quick goodbye and leaving the room, feeling that he had completely wasted the last 15 minutes on something that got him absolutely nowhere. Hopefully, Adaine’s lead would bring at least a little bit more in terms of results.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Adaine was still in the process of gathering the list for him the following morning, so he decided to pursue a lead that was much less likely to get him anything of value and see what he could find out about Porter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least he didn’t have to go out of his way for this one because, by some stroke of luck, Ragh, Sam, and Fig were all sitting in the kitchen when he came down for breakfast. Sam was sitting at the table with an amused grin on her face as Fig stood on the counter and poured cereal into Ragh’s open mouth, more of the cereal ending up on the floor than his stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just the people I needed to see, actually,” he said, nodding toward Ragh and Sam specifically. “Do you two mind if I ask you a few questions?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are we in trouble?” Ragh asked with his mouth full.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would you be in trouble?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gestured to the cereal on the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam snorted. “I think he’s going to ask us some questions about Ostentatia, I’m guessing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, did you hear she got fired?” Ragh asked. “Crazy, man. I never took her for the type to steal from people.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re rich people though,” Fig corrected. “Not actual people.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ragh nodded. “True that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to add the two of you to my list of suspects?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t that why you came down to question us?” Fig asked. “You think that we were the ones who did it. It would make sense too, with a team of multiple people, we could pull off any heist.”</span>
</p>
<p><span>“</span><em><span>Right.</span></em><span>”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“We’d be happy to answer any questions that you have for us, Riz,” Sam said with a smile. “I think I speak for all of us when I say that we have no desire to see Ostentatia take the fall for something that somebody is trying to pin on her.”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Ragh agreed. “Ostentatia is like totally cool. I’m gonna miss the shit out of her if she has to go back to Birchburg.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just have a few questions about,” he looked at Fig and sighed. “Porter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She started jumping up and down on the corner, her horns about half an inch from scraping the ceiling. “I fucking knew it! I knew he was a bad dude. What can I say? I’m just great at reading vibes. The man is a crooked thief that likes to pin his wrongdoings on young girls!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think </span>
  <em>
    <span>Porter</span>
  </em>
  <span> did this?” Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed. “I’m checking out every possible lead, including major longshots. I’m only checking out Porter because he’s a manager and therefore has more access than the average employee and, for some reason, Fig </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t trust him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, Porter didn’t do it,” Ragh replied. “I mean what use could the guy have for a necklace? He isn’t really a jewelry-wearing type.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I think whoever took the necklace was intending to sell it,” he explained. “Unless their motivation was specifically to get Ostentatia fired, which I find highly unlikely. It’s too risky of a move to pull just to make a maid lose her job and there are very few people who would have any motive to do so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can second the claim that Porter wouldn’t do it,” Sam piped in. “He’s a really nice guy, very involved in the Bayside community. He actually got a family membership at his gym in town for the summer so that Ragh and I could also go. He’s a good boss and a good person.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fig shook her head. “Man, he must really have you fooled. I’m telling you, the guy is shady as shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In what way?” Riz asked her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The vibes, mostly,” she replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So he didn’t do anything to make you distrust him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The man doesn’t smile, Riz,” she insisted. “Tell me that isn’t shady behavior.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He smiles,” Sam told him. “Fig just hasn’t seen it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I’m beyond hilarious,” Fig said. “If I haven’t made him smile, then nobody and nothing can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was smiling earlier when he was showing me pictures of his dogs,” Ragh replied doubtfully. “Was that all a trick to woo me to the side of darkness?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Fig said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Sam said at the same time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look,” Riz cut in. “All I need to know is if either of you saw him on Tuesday and if so what was he doing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, man, he was out of town,” Ragh replied. “He had to take his dog, Maisie, to the vet because she’s been sick. That’s why he was showing me pics, to document her recovery. Anyway, the vet that he goes to is all the way up in Bastion City since it’s like a family friend so he was gone all day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, well, that rules him out,” Riz said with a nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unless it’s all a ruse,” Fig countered. “Did any of us actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>see</span>
  </em>
  <span> him in Bastion City? No! There’s no proof that he was there at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fig he has no motive, relatively little access, and a solid alibi,” he said with a sigh. “I hate to break it to you, but Porter is innocent.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of this, maybe,” she replied, a grim expression on her face. ‘But there’s something twisted and evil inside of him. I’m telling you, we cannot trust the management of this hotel and he’s the crooked piece in the center.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He volunteers at the soup kitchen twice a week,” Sam told her. “And organizes community events at the gym. He’s just a normal guy. Actually, a better-than-average guy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “He has you all fooled.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” he said before turning to Sam. “Do you have any better ideas about who might want to set Ostentatia up? Or even just take things from guests in the hotel? You know the place and the people who spend time here far better than I do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “I wish I could help but I honestly have no idea. The only person that might have it out for Ostentatia is Skrank and he’s way too incompetent to do this kind of thing. Besides, I don’t think he’d want to do it anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ve already pretty much ruled him out,” he told her. “Thanks for your help anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you’re being too trusting,” Fig told him. “You’re ruling people out super quick.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t trust anyone who you aren’t good friends with,” he pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged. “Yeah, maybe I’m not trusting enough. I have my reasons for that. But there’s a place in between where I am and where you are right now that that’s where a good detective should be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He thought about her words for a second and then nodded. She was right, in every way. He had been letting personal feelings and general impressions of people color this entire investigation. He hated to admit it, but if he were a good detective then Ostentatia would be his prime suspect. Friends or not, all of the evidence pointed to her. If he were to see this investigation through, that wasn’t a fact that he could ignore.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Fig’s comment was still racing through his mind while he was working the following morning. His only real suspect and the one person who all the evidence pointed toward was Ostentatia. Was he just wasting his time? Worse, was he going to disappoint all his friends if she did turn out to be guilty after all?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gods, he could barely focus at all. Maybe he should have taken the week off. His only reasoning for going in today was that he could listen in for potential hotel gossip and, so far, he had been utterly failing at doing that at all. He could barely stop thinking long enough to listen to people’s orders, much less pick up other bits and pieces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His thoughts were forcibly interrupted when Doreen tapped his shoulder, unexpectedly not in her office for once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goldenhoard called and said he wants to see you in his office. I don’t know what his fucking deal is but apparently it’s urgent,” she told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He furrowed his eyebrows. Good or bad, he hadn’t really had many interactions with Goldenhoard at all, especially not in recent times. “Am I in trouble?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged. “No clue. He didn’t sound happy but when does he ever?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he told her with a nod before heading out of the restaurant and down the hall toward his office.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What could this meeting even be about? The only thought was that Goldenhoard had somehow pieced together that he and the others were behind the prank they pulled to get Gorgug his job back but Fabian hadn’t been called to the office like he had. But, then again, Fabian was the owner’s son so perhaps that granted him immunity. Or maybe Goldenhoard was still trying to weasel out a confession and he thought that Riz was too good of a kid not to crack. He wouldn’t be completely wrong, in certain cases, but Riz would, at all costs, protect his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he walked through the door, Goldenhoard was already sitting menacingly at his desk, which was far too small for a dragonborn of his size.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Close the door behind you,” he ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz nodded and did such before sitting down in the folding chair across from him. “Good morning, sir.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, good morning,” he replied. “This is the first time we’re having a one-on-one conversation, correct?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” he replied. “Mr. Aguefort was the one who interviewed me for the job.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see. He interviewed many of our candidates this year. Surely, Miss Faeth may not have ended up here if that were not the case,” Goldenhoard told him. “Regardless, I’m pleased to finally have an individual conversation with you, Mr. Gukgak. I certainly hope that it will not be our last.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His blood ran cold. What did he know?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve learned that you may have been poking around in hotel affairs more than you should be,” he continued. “That you’ve been investigating a matter that doesn’t concern you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took in a deep breath. “It does concern me, though. Ostentatia is one of my friends. I won’t let her take the fall for something that she might not have done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Goldenhoard pressed the tips of his fingers together. “So who do you propose is the culprit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know yet but-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Precisely,” he replied. “The diamond necklace was found within her cart and very few people could have accessed it other than herself, much less the room it was taken from. I understand a desire to help a friend but this is an investigation that we have already handled internally. By questioning the way that we have handled this extremely serious manner, one which you have no real personal involvement in, you are directly undermining the authority of Arthur Aguefort and myself as managers of this Resort and making a spectacle of something that we are trying to keep under wraps as to preserve the integrity of the hotel and the safety of Ostentatia herself. You forget that keeping this quiet protects her from going to prison.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gulped. “Sir, I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mr. Gukgak, you are typically quite the model employee,” he continued, ignoring his attempt to interrupt. “You show up to all of your shifts on time and don’t allow yourself to become distracted. You clearly care about Seacaster Resort and your position here. That is why I am inclined to give you another chance in this scenario. Stop the investigation and we can just pretend that this conversation never occurred.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, he couldn’t stop the investigation. Certainly not after having this conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who told you that I was investigating in the first place?” he asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You aren’t very subtle,” he replied. “This conversation is over. Please leave my office. I hope that I won’t see you here for a long while.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded and left the office, thoughts spinning through his head. The culprit was onto him and had exposed his investigation to management. Maybe he was getting a lot closer than he had thought.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>As soon as he got back from work, he was jumped by an overexcited Adaine, who grabbed him by the arm and yanked him upstairs to his bedroom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get out,” Adaine said as soon as they entered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian looked up from his crystal with raised eyebrows, clearly noting the wild look in Adaine’s eyes. “This is a very unexpected development. The Ball, I always thought that you two were just friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are,” he assured him, wriggling out of Adaine’s surprisingly strong grip. “She’s helping me with a case.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he insisted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fabian rolled his eyes. “I’m just teasing you, The Ball.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine snorted. “You know Fabian, if you were jealous, you could always be honest with us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As if,” he grumbled, pushing himself off the bed and toward the doorway. “Have fun with all your nerd things.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he had left and the door was closed, Adaine started jumping up and down. “As you know, I was off today so I had time to get the list from Cathilda and do some research. And I found where the items were being sold. I stopped by Shellford’s home and had him help me trace them back to the seller and he traced it to a local IP. But Shellford actually recognized it somehow. Riz, the items are being sold from one of the computers down in IT. You were right after all. It was Skrank.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But that didn’t make a lot of sense. He still thought that Skrank lacked the motivation to do something like this and that he would have to jump through a lot of hoops to get access to-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Riz said firmly. “Adaine, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> were right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She furrowed her eyebrows. “Wait, what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When I went down to IT the other day, Biz warned me to stay out of this investigation because I might get targeted. And then today I was called into Goldenhoard’s office and told to abandon the case or risk getting fired. Biz wasn’t warning me at all. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>threatening me</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he explained to her. “Gods, it makes so much sense too. Biz had access that nobody else had since he literally designed the keycard software.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean I get that Biz is horrible, but why would he do all this and pin it on Ostentatia?” she asked. “Do you think he was trying to look out for Skrank or something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “My guess is that he was in it for the money. The IT department is woefully underfunded. I think that Ostentatia was just an unfortunate culprit when he looked into the necklace and realized that it wasn’t something that he could pawn without any consequences.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adaine pulled out her crystal and started typing. “I’m sending a text to Shellford. I’m going to see if he can try to hack into Biz’s bank and get any financial records. I think that we have some really great evidence but we need something more concrete to pin it on him in particular.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I agree,” Riz said with a nod. “Do you think that he can do it? Bank records are probably fairly secure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He seems confident,” she replied, reading something off her crystal. “Apparently Bayside Community Bank doesn’t exactly have the best cybersecurity. Shellford seems happy that Biz was always too lazy to switch his account over to KVX when they opened up a location in town.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should tell Ostentatia then,” he decided. “At this point, it’s solved.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’ll be relieved to hear it,” Adaine said with a nod. “I’ll handle the evidence and deliver it where it needs to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Adaine,” he said. “I need to go catch a bus into town.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He rushed out the door with the thrill of somebody who’d just solved the case of a lifetime.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Ostentatia and Danielle’s apartment was a few blocks away from downtown in a tan terra cotta style building. Riz had never been there before since he wasn’t super close with either of them but Penny had been more than happy to share the address when she heard the news that he was planning on sharing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knocked on the door frantically, bursting with excitement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Danielle was the one to open the door. “Riz?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is your girlfriend home?” he asked her, pushing inside before she could invite him to do so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She-” Danielle started but he tuned her out when he spotted a familiar head of blond hair peeking out from over the back of the couch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He marched over to her and stood in front of her. “It was Biz.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes widened. “Wait, what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adaine and I tracked the stolen items to IT and Biz had access to all of the rooms, including where you store the carts,” he told her. “It was him. Adaine is gathering the last piece of evidence now to turn in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She leaped off the couch and hugged him tightly. She had never seemed like a very touchy person to him, so it felt a bit significant. “Thank you so much, Riz. I’m so sorry I blew up at you the other day. I was so stressed and-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” he assured her as they separated. “I’m just glad that I could help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a great friend, Riz,” she told him.</span>
</p>
<p><span>“I’m just doing my job.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“You can tell yourself that,” she replied. “But you’re also a good friend.”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we should order food to celebrate,” Danielle suggested. “On me. Would you like to join us, Riz?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head. “I’ll leave you two to enjoy your night together. I should get back to the house. I just wanted to deliver the news in person.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Danielle took her turn in hugging him next. “Well, we really do appreciate it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll see you two soon,” he told them, walking out the door and heading back toward the bus stop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he walked, his crystal rang with a call from Adaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are we all set?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are,” she said. “We have evidence that connects all the sales back to his account. I’ve handed it over to Cathilda so that she can report up with it. I trust her with it, especially since she hired you. She said that Ostentatia should be able to start back up at work tomorrow. I wasn’t sure if I should hand it straight over to the police for the sake of the Resort’s reputation but I think Biz is going to get the punishment he’s due.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s fantastic,” he replied. “I told Ostentatia that she should be clear. She was ecstatic. I’m just happy that we could help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am as well,” Adaine said, trailing off near the end.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there something else?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed. “I wasn’t sure if I should bring this up since it might ruin your mood. Biz was only taking a small cut of the profits. Most of it was going to an offshore account that we couldn’t pin to anyone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was probably trying to avoid alerting the bank,” he proposed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think so. I doubt that he would go to that length to avoid something that he wasn’t even on anyone’s radar for,” she replied. “I think that maybe he was working for somebody.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Riz stopped where he stood. “But who?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have no idea. Something seems off, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And whoever he’s doing this for actually knows how to cover their tracks,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think that we need to be a bit more cautious this summer,” she told him. “But we’ve cleared Ostentatia’s name. That’s what matters most. I guess that we can only hope that Biz fesses up about his boss.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll be home soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Talk to you soon,” she replied, ending the call.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitated for a moment before he started walking again, the entire case spinning through his head on repeat. He had to have missed something, but what?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>you thought this fic was all fun and games?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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